Into the Night
by Madison Quinn
Summary: Originally part of the Playroom challenge... Ana needs to leave her abusive husband but must risk her life to do so. Conventional ways of leaving are out, as he will track her every move if given the chance. So after abandoning her car, she sets out on foot into the woods in the middle of the night with little to nothing with. It's there that she runs into trouble.
1. Chapter 1

**APOV:**

"You think you can just walk out of this house?" he screams at me.

"I'm done; I told you last time if you hit me again I was leaving."

"Leaving?" He laughs. "Where the fuck do you think you're going to go? I have eyes everywhere, I fucking own this town and you know it. You won't be able to buy a pack of gum in this town without me knowing!"

"I don't care, I'm-"

I should have expected it, I should have prepared for it but his push catches me off guard and I tumble down the stairs. My duffel bag follows down the stairs after he kicks it, clothes spilling out of the split zipper. I'm lying on the cold, marble floor in the entryway to the house I always hated. The man I'm married to stands at the top of the stairs with a sinister look in his eyes; I know he's right. There's not a damn thing I can do in this town without him knowing. Which is why my only solution is to leave town.

"Get the fuck out of here if that's what you want," he screams. "Hell I'll give you a head start; I'll wait an hour before sending Johnny and Marco to find you and drag your sorry ass back here. Mark my words though, when they bring you back you will regret walking out that door so make sure this is what you really want."

"Oh I'm sure," I snicker. "I told you I was done being used as a punching bag."

"And if you learned how to keep your fucking mouth shut I wouldn't need to punish you."

I slowly pull myself up, nearly collapsing when I try to put weight on my ankle. I don't have to look up to see the smile on his face, I already know it's there. It's the same smile that is always there when he sees the bruises the next morning. I told him after he broke my ribs last month I was done and that if he so much as hit me again I was leaving. I made the mistake of thinking for a brief moment that he was going to change, three weeks had passed by before he even so much as raised his voice at me. All that changed earlier when I walked into his office to tell him dinner was done and interrupted a call I didn't know he was on.

"Clock is ticking Annie," he chuckles. "You have one hour; when you step foot in this house again, be prepared because I won't go easy on you. This is your only warning. You should know by now, no one leaves me….no one."

He's probably going to kill me, but right now I have to leave. I'm not staying in this house another minute and I don't give a shit who he threatens to send after me. I quickly grab the duffel bag I had packed after the last fight, wanting to have it ready because I knew this day would eventually come. I pull out a few articles of clothing and shove them in my purse. My wrist and ankle are killing me so I there's no way I can carry as much as I had packed. Plus with the zipper broken, everything would end up falling out. I pull out my sunglasses, the ones that are on nearly every time I leave the house to cover a bruise, put them on and walk out the door without looking back.

I had this grand plan of leaving when he was at work one day, but he must have caught on because suddenly he started working more from home. In fact all of his business meetings started occurring at home instead of at his office. And the few times he did have to leave for business, he left one of his associates here…just in case as he always said.

I hobble to the door, immediately regretting not changing into something warmer when the cool air hits me. I toss my purse into the car and take off into the dark night; I know I don't have much time but I need to get as far away as I can. I keep a careful watch out my rear view mirror, I have no idea if he was telling the truth about waiting an hour or if he was lying like he usually does. I can't take the risk though, I can't let Johnny and Marco catch me. If I thought I could, I would try to reason with them; hell I would bribe them if I thought I had something they wanted if it meant letting me go. There's no chance though, those guys, just like everyone else in this town, are loyal to Tony.

He has everyone in his pocket and there's no one I can trust. I learned that early on in our marriage when I confided something to a girlfriend that made its way back to him less than an hour later. That was the first time he ever slapped me; he told me I embarrassed him and needed to learn what my place was as his wife. Why the hell I stayed as long as I did is beyond me.

That's not true, I knew the reason I stayed. Because I had no one else; he slowly cut everyone out of my life, not that there were many people in it to begin with. He moved me across the country, away from the only home I knew. Well, I guess I can't say he moved me because I did go willingly; it's not like he kidnapped me and forced me to move here. Emails, phone calls and even text messages were read before they made it to my phone. He said it was to protect his business, but now I know it was because he wanted to make sure I wasn't embarrassing him any further.

I shake my head, needing to desperately focus on the dark road in front of me. I finally make it to a rest step where I park the car and quickly use the restroom. I toss the phone onto the car floor before locking the doors and walking away. I know better than to think that he doesn't know exactly where I am right now. But I also know that the only way he can track me is through the car and my phone, neither of which I plan on taking with me. I head back inside the small rest stop and quickly purchase a few bottles of water and granola bars. It's not much, but considering I'm going on foot from here I can't carry that much. I quickly use the ATM, withdrawing as much cash as I can in a day; part of me is surprised that he hasn't frozen the card yet but the other part of me knows it's because he expects Johnny and Marco to bring me back to his house soon so why bother.

I double check my purse one final time, making sure that there's nothing in it that can be tracked and then I exit the store. This time instead of heading to the parking lot, I head behind the building and into the national forest. When I came up with this grand plan to leave Tony, I figured I would drive a few hours north and then take off on foot. I figured I'd have time to stop somewhere to purchase a tent and maybe even a sleeping bag. I figured I wouldn't be limping and in pain from falling down a flight of stairs. I head into the woods, away from the rumble of the highway and civilization as I've known it. My only saving grace is that I don't need to worry about freezing to death since nights here don't get cold enough.

The woods get darker and darker the further I walk; my only source of light is the small flashlight on my keychain. Again, something I thought I would be able to purchase when I left him. I walk for hours, stopping only for brief moments when the pain in my ankle becomes too much to bear. I can't risk stopping for too long; I doubt Johnny and Marco will think I took off into the woods but incase they start heading this way I need to be as far away from the rest stop as I possibly can get. There were no cameras at the rest stop but that doesn't mean that someone there won't remember seeing a woman head behind the building and into the woods. I walk through the night and all of the next day; my legs are beyond sore, my muscles screaming from being overworked but I don't dare stop for more than a few minutes.

By the time the sun begins to set I'm seriously questioning whether or not I'll survive until I can find the next town. I have no idea where I am; I think I'm still heading north but at this point I could be heading right back to his house-

STOP

I'm smart enough to not get myself turned around; I know I'm not heading south. I'm not going back to that nightmare; not today and not ever again. I need to find shelter and rest, even if only for a few hours. I can't keep going like this, despite my fear that he's still going to find me. I need to rest my body, to give my ankle a chance to heal…at least a little bit before I start hiking again. I manage to find a small area hidden by several big boulders that I think I'll be safe near. I have a lighter and a couple packs of matches in my purse that I hid in there after Tony took me out one night at a club he owns.

I make a small fire, more for comfort than warmth, and bury myself in the small alcove hidden by the boulders. I sweater is all that covers me, but it keeps me warm enough. The fire is small and I don't think I need to worry about it getting out of hand, though I can't say I'm much of a campfire expert. If I thought this plan through better I probably would have read up on how to hunt, what berries are safe to eat or at least would have brought something to fish with. I shake my head, needing to stop doubting myself. I cringe when I slowly take off my sneaker, my ankle once again screaming in defiance. It's easily swollen twice it's natural size and the dark purple color is definitely not my normal skin tone. The pain reliever I took earlier has long worn off and really wasn't even touching the pain, but I think it was my adrenaline that kept me from feeling the amount of pain I'm in right now. I fall asleep with tears streaming down my face; I don't know how I'll get my sneaker back on in the morning or how I'll even be able to walk but I don't have a choice. I need to continue on; I need to get as far away from Tony has possible.

GGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRR

I loud growl wakes me; I'm greeted by complete darkness the fire snuffed out a long time ago. My heart is racing, beating erratically as I try to figure out what made that sound and where it came from. The darkness doesn't help; in fact it makes it worse because even if I could move I don't know what direction to move in.

 **CPOV:**

A high pitched female scream has me taking off, racing through the woods, something about her scream calling to me. I reach the area quickly and immediately see what caused the woman to scream. Based on the cries coming from the rocks, the three bears have her cornered there. They're so focused on the woman they don't hear me approach, which I use to my advantage. I charge at the first one, he goes flying across the small camp area landing against a tree. After ensuring he's not going anywhere, I move on to the other two who are now circling around me.

Good they've moved on from the girl. I don't know what it is, but there's something about her that is begging me to protect her. Even if the constant nagging wasn't there, I wouldn't be standing by watching the bears tear a human apart. But with her it's different; I feel like I don't have a choice but to save her. Something inside of me is drawn to her; the overwhelming need to protect her is like something I've never felt before. I want to look over at her, to make sure she's okay and that the cries I'm still hearing are from fear and not because these fuckers hurt her. But I can't; I need to get rid of the bears before I can check on her.

They're challenging me, but even though there's two of them, they're no match for me. Just as one is about to move a growl comes from behind me; immediately I smirk, game on. Taylor jumps out landing on one just as I jump on the other one. Neither go down as fast as their buddy did, but they had a chance to prepare whereas he was caught off guard. The girl continues to whimper and cry in the background but seems to have enough sense not to move from her spot. If she were to try to, the bears would be all over her again. She has food in her bag and they're hungry; she's no match for them.

I focus on one bear while Taylor has the other; we tumble several times, both of us swiping at each other until I manage to pin him down and clamp down on his neck. My teeth immediately penetrate his thick skin just as my paw swipes at his face. He drops to the ground, unresponsive; I pull myself off of him and am about to turn to find Taylor when the woman screams again. Before I can turn around the other bear back hands me and sends me flying across the ground. I growl, pissed off now and charge at him. Out of the corner of my eye I watch as Taylor also runs towards him. We both hit him at full force, immediately knocking him down. Taylor grabs his neck with his mouth, cutting off his air supply just until he passes out.

"I've got this one, go to her," Taylor says.

I nod and head over to where the whimpering sounds are coming from and I'm floored by what I see when I finally reach her. She's bruised, beaten and bleeding but even I know that the bears didn't do all of this to her. I can't help the growl that escapes me when I take in the full extent of her injuries. She cries out, backing herself against the boulder at her back, shaking in complete fear. I want to tell her that everything will be okay, that I won't hurt her, but she won't be able to understand me even if I tried to tell her any of that right now. Instead I slowly approach her, not able to keep myself from her.

Take care of her, protect her. Claim her; she's your mate.

A mate? I don't want a fucking mate! I've never believed the notion that there was one person out there for you that you were meant to be with forever. That they would be marked as your mate and no matter what you did you wouldn't be able to resist them. That you would be drawn to them, willing to risk everything for them because they make you feel things that you never thought was possible.

Yeah, that shit doesn't exist. This fucking voice in my head needs to shut the fuck up.

"What do you want to do Christian?" Taylor returns, cautiously approaching us, but apparently it's not enough because the girl once again screams out in fear only this time she passes out.

"Need to get her out of here, the bears will be back in no time," I keep an eye out for any of them to return.

"Doesn't look like she's going to be walking out of here with us," he chuckles.

"Grab some of the vines, we'll need to tie her to my back."

We get to work quickly, yanking the vines from the nearby trees; they're strong enough that they'll be able to hold her against me even if she doesn't come to right away. Actually it would probably be better if she didn't come to until we got home; right now I can't talk to her, I can't try to explain what I know she won't understand. And out here I can't shift back, it's too dangerous for both of us for me to even try to.

Once we have enough vines, I tear through the only bag I find a camp looking for a blanket to wrap around her so the vines don't scratch her but I don't find any. What the hell is she doing camping out here without basic supplies? There's no tent, no sleeping bag and not even a fucking blanket? But then I remember the bruises covering her beautiful skin.

She's not camping, she's running. She's running from someone who hurt her.

The need to protect her is stronger than before; I can't leave her out here, I can't leave her alone where someone can hurt her again. I can't-

"We should get going," Taylor reminds me. "We need to find a new place to meet the van-"

"Tell them to meet us at Kate's grandfather's old place," I quickly formulate a plan. "Have them pull around to the back of the barn and we'll meet them there."

"Let's get her loaded up and then I'll let them know," Taylor moves towards the woman lying on the ground.

"Don't touch her," I growl. "She's mine."

"Easy man," he takes a step back. "Unless you have a way to load her on your back yourself, you're going to need to let me help you."

I growl but nod, not understanding what the fuck just came over me. I've never been possessive of a woman before, not ever.

"She have a blanket or something?" he asks.

"Nothing."

"What the fuck was she doing out here?"

"Running."

"Fuck."

We find a long sweater nearby which will have to do; my eyes don't leave Taylor as he lifts her up and over to me. The immediate sense of relief that I feel the moment her body is on me makes no sense at all. He helps adjust her before we work together to wrap the vines around both of us, tying her to me so she can't fall off. Or can't jump off if she happens to come to before I can get us home.

Home…I'm bringing her fucking home…I have no idea why. I should drop her off at a hospital and let her take care of them, but I can't.

"Let's go, Sawyer will meet us in two hours."

Taylor wraps the bag around his chest and takes off through into the woods; I quickly follow behind him the added weight of the woman on my back not slowing me down at all. This was supposed to be a quick business trip, hell we weren't even supposed to be in the woods tonight. We were supposed to drive back, but the idea of sitting in a cramped plane again nearly killed me. I hate being cooped up, especially on a plane. So instead, Taylor and I decided we would hike back to Wyoming. We shipped our clothe back, left the rental care at rest stop and took off into the woods. Running through the woods, even in the middle of the night doesn't compare to sitting on a plane next to strangers where I kid is kicking the back of your seat constantly.

I would be worried about the woman on my back, hell I should be worried about her, but I can feel her heart steadily beating against me. Every so often she whimpers and her hands wrap around my fur, but she doesn't seem to wake up which is best given the situation. Taylor and I race through the woods, wanting to put as much space between us and the bears as possible as I have no idea if they're going to wake up and try to track us. I saw Taylor pull the granola bars from her bag and leave them where we found her, so they shouldn't come after us for food.

We finally reach the old farm that Kate's grandfather used to own; it has been in her family for generations. She grew up in the home and probably would have stayed if she didn't meet Elliot; once he convinced her that she was his mate, which wasn't easy, she moved to Wyoming with him. They've leased out the land to a local farmer; at first they were renting out the house, but it makes more sense to leave it empty for situations like this when someone needs a place.

With Taylor's help, we get the woman off my back and lean her against the barn. I have to force back the growl each time Taylor touches her, even though part of me knows he's only doing it to help me. When she's settled, he immediately backs away, heading out to the driveway to keep an eye out for the van. I look over the woman before me, the woman who I can't seem to get out of my head. Her face is bruised, no doubt by someone's fists judging by the looks of them. The slashes on her hand though are likely from one of the bears, though they seem to have stopped bleeding. That doesn't stop me though, I nuzzle her injured hand, my tongue darting over the scratches in an effort to heal them. She moans and immediately I pull back, wondering what the fuck I was thinking.

"They're pulling in now," Taylor says. If I wasn't so focused on the bruised, but beautiful woman in front of me I would have known that. I would have heard the tires of the van coming down the gravel driveway.

The white cargo van quickly pulls around the back of the barn; Sawyer jumps out of the driver's seat raising his eyebrows as he takes in the woman. He doesn't ask any questions, instead just goes to the back of the van and opens the doors. Just as we manage to get her into the car, she comes to.

"What….Who….what….." she cries out, her eyes glued to me the moment I jump in the back of the van.

Taylor pounds on the wall, telling Sawyer to start moving because if we don't get out of here this woman is going to start screaming and drawing attention to us that we don't need right now. I'm dying to shift back but I think right now that might freak her out even more.

"Let me go….please let me go," she cries.

"Ma'am," Sawyer calls from the front seat. "You're safe; we're not going to hurt you-"

"I'm trapped back here with two wolves!" she screams. "They're going to tear me into a million pieces and then eat me alive!"

"I assure you that they won't do that," Sawyer has the balls to chuckle at her.

"Please….just let me go….please….I'll do anything. Did Tony send you for me?"

Who the fuck is Tony? I growl at the idea of another man touching her.

"Oh God!" she gasps.

"Ma'am I don't know who Tony is; I'm here because Christian and Taylor asked me to come and meet you here."

"Who?"

"The wolves-"

"The wolves? They told you…"

"I'm sure they'll explain everything when we get back and they can shift-"

"Shift? What are you talking about?"

"When they're in their human form-"

 **APOV:**

I've kept an eye on the two wolves throughout the entire conversation, but until now they haven't moved from the back of the van. Meanwhile I'm pressed against the wall of the van, wishing it would somehow open so I could jump out. I might even take my chances of Johnny and Marco finding me over staying in this locked van with two wolves staring at me. Well, just one of them is staring at me, the other seems to be looking back and forth between me and the other wolf.

Wait did he just say that the wolves told him to pick me up? And that the wolves would explain everything to me when they shift…when they're in their human form. Shift…so they turn from animal into a human? I've heard folk stories about shifters, but I never believed they existed and now one is staring right at me.


	2. Chapter 2

_Author's Note: I swore I wasn't going to update this story until one of the other ones were finished, but I couldn't stay away. Don't worry, the other stories will be continuing. In fact, Sweet Surrender should be wrapped up soon. I hope you're enjoying a different twist on our favorite couple; it's my first attempt at writing anything remotely close to this genre so please take it easy on me._

 **Chpt. 2 APOV**

"Please…If you could just stop and let me out, I won't tell anyone what I saw I swear," I plea with the driver. "I have some money in my bag, not much-"

"We don't want your money, ma'am," the driver says without glancing back at me.

"Whatever I have it's yours. Please just let me go," I just make out the strap of my in the corner of the van, behind one of the wolves.

"Can't do that ma'am; I'm under strict orders to bring you-"

"Oh God, we're not going to back to Vegas are we? Please you can't….I can't go back there," panic engulfs me to the point that I can no longer hear the driver talking to me. I can't go back to Tony; he'll kill me if they bring me back to him. He's right; no one walks away from Tony. I knew he would send people after me, but I wasn't expecting this. I've got to get out of here; I have to escape before we make it back to Vegas. I have no idea where we are; we could be minutes from one of Tony's businesses where they're meeting him. Jumping from a moving van probably isn't the safest option, but right now it's my only option.

"GGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRR"

Before I can even take a step towards the door the wolf that's been staring at me since we got in the van growls out at me instantly having me backing up against the side of the van.

"Please," I sob.

"Ma'am, we're not going to Vegas," the driver practically screams.

"Where? Where are you meeting Tony?"

"I don't know who Tony is ma'am. All I know is Taylor contacted me to pick him and Christian up at the farmhouse."

"Where" (hiccup) "are you taking" (hiccup) "me?"

"Wyoming," he answers quickly.

"Wyoming? But that's…."

"About 12 hours from Vegas. You were more than 8 hours from Vegas when I picked you up from the farmhouse and we've been headed east since then. I assure you we're not going to Vegas or to whoever Tony is."

"I don't understand."

"I'm sure you don't ma'am. As soon as we get back, Christian will be able to explain things better than I can do while driving."

"How….how did I get so far from Vegas? I shouldn't have been that far away; there's no way I hiked that long before…"

"I don't know all the details but as I understand it, Christian carried you on his back. Wolves are very fast animals and would have made up more ground faster than you could have walking or even running."

I stare at the wolf that is still staring at me, almost as if he expects me to try to escape again…which I suppose is warranted. I don't understand any of what's going on and how he could have carried me running through the woods. The last thing I remember was watching him and the other wolf attack the bears who I was certain would kill me. I wish I would have thought to pack a knife or gun, but I knew if I even tried to it would have tipped Tony off to what I was planning. The next thing I remember was being shut in the van with both of the wolves. I don't know if I should believe the driver, that we're not in fact heading towards Vegas. I want to look out the front window, to confirm what he's saying but I'm afraid to turn my back on the wolves.

"They're not going to hurt you," the driver says.

"Then why is the one is staring at me like I'm a piece of steak?" I snap back.

The driver as the balls to fucking laugh at me, like I'm the crazy one! Hello….there are two wolves trapped in the back of the van with a woman who is injured and probably a third of their size. Hell, I just watched them take down three bears who were bigger than them. And the driver thinks they won't hurt me.

"It's not in their nature to hurt humans unless it's warranted," he says as if that explains everything.

"Maybe wanting to eat me warrants it," I mumble.

"I assure you it doesn't."

I take a deep breath, holding it as I slowly turn my head to look out the front window. There are large mountains in front of us and not much more than that. As I cautiously look out around us, I slowly let out the breath I was holding realizing that it's very likely that the driver was telling the truth and that we're not heading back to Vegas. I've traveled enough with Tony to be familiar with the look of the areas near Vegas where his businesses are kept and none of them were in areas that looked like this. Of course that doesn't mean that Tony didn't have business locations that I didn't know about but even so if we are heading to Wyoming that seems too far for Tony to venture.

"We're really not going to back to Vegas."

"I've been trying to tell you that ma'am," the driver chuckles.

A movement catches my eye and I immediately turn to watch the wolf in front of me lay down which moves his head closer to me. A glance back confirms the other wolf is also laying down in front of the back doors of the van. His eyes are closed, but the way his ears are twitching tells me he's listening to everything going on around him.

What the hell am I saying?

My eyes drift back to the wolf lying down in front of me, his head inches from my leg. I fight the instinct to bring my legs up to my chest and wrap my arms around them only because I'm afraid the sudden movement will make the wolf attack me.

"We have about another hour or so until we're home if you want to take a nap-"

"A nap?"

Is he crazy? He wants me to nap with two giant wolves in here with me? So the minute I close my eyes they can attack me?

"I assure you ma'am you're perfectly safe back there; they won't hurt you whether you're awake or asleep-"

"I…I'm fine. I'll stay awake until we get wherever we're going and I can find a place to stay."

"Something tells me that won't be a problem," he chuckles again but for the life of me I can't figure what the hell he finds so funny about this situation. Come to think of it, why isn't he freaked out by the wolves? How is it he knows they won't hurt me? How did they contact him? I doubt they have cell phones hidden in their fur somewhere. A giggle escapes me at that thought and the wolf in front of me lifts his head, tilting it to the side as if he's questioning me. His soft, almost comforting grey eyes find mine and I can't look away in that moment and I'm not sure I want to which makes no sense.

I must have a concussion.

That's the only rational explanation; I hit my head when the bears tried to attack me and now I'm hallucinating. Hallucinations can be a side effect of a concussion…right? It has to be what happened, because animals that shift into humans don't exist. Wolves rescuing people from a bear attack and then taking them hours away from a dangerous man who wants to kill them doesn't happen. This is all either a hallucination or a dream. With the understanding that nothing around me is real, I stop fighting the heaviness in my eyes allowing them to close a few moments later.

 **CPOV:**

"What do you want to do with her?" Taylor asks nods towards the van as if I need him to tell me who he's talking about.

"I have no fucking idea."

"She's it, isn't she?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes you do. She's your-"

"Cut the crap Taylor, you know I don't believe in that shit."

"I also know I thought it was all a bunch of shit until I found Gail, then it all changed. You'll understand, you'll see."

"She's not my mate," I growl.

"You sure? 'Cause I've never seen you so possessive over someone before. You were ready to fight me for daring to touch her."

"She was hurt-"

"That wasn't it and you know it. You didn't want me touching her; you told me she was yours."

"Look, just stay here for a few minutes. I need to shift and throw on a pair of clothes. She'll probably freak out more if she wakes up and finds a naked man in the van with her all of a sudden. Just give me a minute, I have clothes on the porch."

He nods, and I quickly run to the back of the cabin waiting until the van is out of view before shifting back into my human form. I would have done it right there but with my luck she would have chosen that moment to wake up and look out the window. This is going to be hard enough to explain, but having her see it happen? Probably not the best option.

A human being my mate? That's even crazier than the idea that there's someone out there, specifically marked as mine. That the other person is imprinted in your DNA so that you'll never love anyone else in your entire life. That you'll never truly be happy or satisfied with your life until you meet that person. That when you finally find that person and claim them, it will be as if the two of you become one. You'll be able to feel the other's pain, their emotions and even sense what is going on with them when they're not around.

It's all fucking bullshit if you ask me.

Pulling my shirt over my head, I step around the cabin to where Taylor is still guarding the van. Sawyer took off the moment we arrived, having the nerve to wish me luck before heading back to his own cabin. I have no idea what I'm going to fucking do, but I can't leave this woman alone. I need to know her story, to know who hurt her, to know what she was doing in the middle of the woods in the middle of the night.

"There's an extra set of clothes on the porch," I tell Taylor incase he wants to shift here. All cabins in our pack always have at least two sets of extra sweats on the back porch. Sometimes you get called back when you're on a run and don't have time to get back to your own place. Sometimes plans change when you're running and someone else's cabin is closer.

"I'm good, I'm eager to get back to Gail," Taylor says.

"Thanks….for your help with her."

"Anytime. For what it's worth, mate or no mate, you were right to get involved. She wouldn't have…they had her…"

"I know."

He nods at me and takes off into the woods behind my cabin; he'll be at his place in only a few minutes. We've been best friends since we were little so it only made sense for our properties to border one another when it was time for us to move out on our own. I slowly approach the van parked in my driveway, opening the door as quietly as I can. I let out the breath I didn't know I was holding when I find the young woman still asleep in the van. She must have been exhausted when she finally fell asleep because she didn't once move. Not when Sawyer drove up the long dirt driveway; not when the three of us got out of the van and certainly not when even before all of that I nuzzled her obviously sore ankle. Even looking at her now, watching her sleep, my wolf is pushing me to move closer to her. He's typically pretty passive when it comes to women, not caring one way or the other but with this one it's like he can't stay away. Before I even realize it, I'm climbing into the van, moving closer to the woman.

"What?!" She screams and backs up against the wall of the van where she had positioned herself for nearly the entire drive here only moving when she finally fell asleep.

"You're okay," I quickly assure her.

"Who are you?" she looks in the front seat of the van. "Where's the driver?"

"He went home."

"Where am I? Where are….?"

"You're in Wyoming, outside of my cabin to be exact."

"Wyoming," she sighs in relief. "Who are you again?"

"My name is Christian."

I slowly extend my hand, careful not to scare her.

"Your eyes….."

"My eyes?"

"They're so grey, just like…."

She looks at the spot in the van where I sat as a wolf the entire car ride here. I can practically see the wheels turning in her head as she tries to rationalize with herself that there wasn't two wolves in here with her and that one of them isn't sitting next to her now…as a human. I'd think it was comical if it weren't for the bruises on her face and her bright purple ankle that fuels intense anger inside of me that I can't remember the last time I felt.

"Come inside-"

"What? No, I need to….go somewhere. I need to find a place to hide, I need to get further away."

"You're hurt, you can't keep going. Come inside, you'll be safe here."

"Safe?" she chuckles as if the idea is a foreign concept which I don't understand.

"No one will hurt you again," I practically growl at her; her eyes widen and I immediately regret my tone.

"I-"

"Look," I sigh and run my hands through my hair. "You're hurt and at least for right now you can't put any weight on your ankle. Come inside, get cleaned up and I'll have someone come and check you over."

"Someone…."

"I know you have questions; let's get inside and I'll answer them, I promise," I offer in a last ditch chance of getting her out of the van.

"I wasn't hallucinating or dreaming was I?"

"No you weren't."

"You were….you were really a wolf?"

"Yes."

"And there other one…."

"Taylor yes, but he's gone home now too. It's just you and me."

"Holy shit."

"Something like that," I can't help but chuckle. It's not too often that someone finds out about who we were really are, but their reaction is always the same. "Let me help you inside."

She looks at my extended hand and then back to my face, before ever so slowly placing her hand in mind. Almost immediately my skin tingles when she touches me and by the look in her eyes hers does as well. I shake my head, not knowing what the hell that was about and slowly back out of the van so I can help her.

"I'm fine," she says when I try to put my arm around her back.

"Your ankle is double the size of the other one, you're not fine," I point out desperately trying not to scare her like I did earlier.

"It's fine," she repeats. "It didn't stop me from hiking so I think I can handle getting out of the van by myself."

"Adrenaline probably-"

She doesn't listen and decides to get out of the van herself; it wasn't standing right next to her she would be on the ground right now. Her ankle refuses to support her weight which I knew would happen and she cries out in pain. Before she can collapse on the ground, I have her in my arms, cradling her against my chest before bringing her into my cabin. She sniffles against me, but thankfully doesn't argue not that I think she can right now. Once in the living room, I settle her on the couch and put two throw pillows under her ankle.

"Thank you," she mumbles.

"I'm going to grab your bag out of the van, don't try to get up until I get back," I warn before heading back outside.

I have no idea what the hell I'm doing with her or what the fuck I was thinking when I told Sawyer to take us to my cabin. I could have taken her to my parents' cabin; my father is the alpha of our pack, it's his role to handle anything that comes up. He would have seen that this woman receives medical care and given her enough money to get her to wherever she was going. But when Sawyer asked me where to go, I immediately said my place. I never even considered bringing her to my parents which makes no fucking sense.

I grab the bag, shaking my head at how few items were even in it to begin with. I get that she left in hurry, but what the fuck was she thinking not bringing anything to protect her? No knife, no gun; nothing to protect her from the wild. Even if the bears hadn't found her last night, she wouldn't have lasted another day or two. Granola bars and trail mix, that's all she had on her besides two bottles of water. How far did she think she would get with that? But after seeing her what this Tony fucker did to her, I doubt that it mattered. It's obvious she was just concerned about leaving and was probably thinking she would figure it out as she went. But why hike through the woods? Why not drive or take a bus or hell call a cab?

I walk back into the cabin, pleased to find her still sitting on my couch. Even though I would have expected she learned her lesson about walking only a few minutes ago, part of me was still worried she would try to do something on her own again.

"I'm Ana….I realized when you were gone I never told you my name."

"Ana," I repeat.

"Thank you for everything you did last night; I don't know if, with everything, if I said that, if I thanked you. I still don't know what happened last night or where you came from or how you even knew I needed help-"

"I heard you scream, we were only a few miles away so I took off."

"You heard me from a few miles away?"

"Yeah."

"And you were….already a wolf? Or did you….change?"

"Taylor and I were already in wolf form, which is the only way I could have heard your scream from so far away."

"So you're…."

"We're what's called shape shifters."

"I….I thought they didn't exist. That they were just folk tales," her face turns the cutest shade of pink before she continues. "I know there's a few…romance books out there about them, but I thought…you know they were just stories."

"The good books, even those romance ones, were mostly like written by shifters. The crappy ones that make no sense or exaggerate things were written by humans with active imaginations."

"So you're really….a wolf?"

"I'm both human and wolf, yes," I try to explain something I've never had to explain before. We tend to keep our wolves hidden from society knowing that people won't accept that side of us. "Before we get into all the questions I know you have, let's talk about you."

"Me?" she gulps.

"You need medical attention, if I'm not mistaken your ankle is likely broken. The cuts on your hand are from one of the bears last night, but you have other injuries."

"I can't go to a hospital; I just need a place to rest for a few days," she quickly argues. "If….if there's a motel somewhere nearby I have cash that I can get a room until I can move on."

"You're not going to a fucking motel!" I snap not able to hide my anger.

"Look, I appreciate your help last night and today," she sighs. "If I could use your phone I'll call for a cab and –"

"You're not going to a motel," I hiss. "You need a doctor."

"I already told you I can't go to a hospital. You don't understand, my name will be flagged. The moment they try to bill the insurance company it'll alert him. Even if they don't bill the insurance I'm sure he's flagged my social security number or something to alert him-"

"My mother is a doctor, she'll take care of you. No insurance, no paperwork, no hospitals. She has an office set up in her house with everything she'll need to check you over."

"And she's a….shifter too?"

"Yes. My father is the alpha….the leader of our pack."

"Your pack?"

"I'm going to call my mom and see when I can bring you over," I sigh. "I know you have lots of questions, but right now you need to understand that my wolf is going stir crazy seeing you covered in bruises and dried blood."

"Why?" she whispers.

"He wants to go after the fucker who did this to you," I growl.

"Oh."

"So let me get you checked out so it calms him down a little and then I promise I'll answer all the questions going through that pretty little head of yours. Okay?"

"'Kay."

"Now, besides your ankle, your split lip and bruised eye," I grimace as I look over her injuries. "What else needs to be checked out?"

"I….I landed on my wrist," she holds it up and sure enough it's nearly as swollen as her ankle is though the shirt she's wearing was covering it which is the only reason I didn't notice it until now.

"Let's go," without bothering to call my parents I pick Ana up and carry her back out to the van, this time sitting her on the front seat. I should have taken her straight there to begin with, I shouldn't have listened to my wolf that was instant that she come home with us.


	3. Chapter 3

_Author's Note: You guys have blown me away with your feedback on this story! I'm so glad that so many of you are giving it a chance even though it's not your usual genre choice. A few reviewers commented that the story is similar to Twilight…funny thing is I've never read any of those books or seen any of the movies LOL so it's just a coincidence._

 **Chpt. 3 APOV** :

"Was wondering when you'd show up son," an older man with greyish hair greets us before Christian even has a chance to knock on the door.

"Is mom here?"

The man glances down at me for the first time, his eyes go wide as he takes in my injuries. I don't need a mirror to see how my face looks; unfortunately I've seen the bruises before. He steps aside, closing the door behind him.

"Christian! What on earth?" A woman comes into the room to greet us, stopping in her tracks.

"She needs help…can you look at her injuries?"

"Of course, bring her to the back."

Without saying another word, Christian follows the woman down the hall to the last door in a long hallway. When he walks in I'm surprised that the room actually resembles a doctor's examination room, which gives me some relief. Christian gently places me on the exam table, his hands fall to the table beside me for a moment as if he expects me to fall off the table.

"I'm fine," I whisper which is only when he steps back from the table.

"Why don't you give us a few minutes Christian?" the woman suggests.

"Will you be okay?"

"I'm fine."

His gaze bounces between me and his mother several times before he simply nods and leave the room, gently closing the door behind him. The woman goes over to the sink and begins to wash her hands. I have no idea what to think about her; she looks….so normal. Is she a wolf too? She would have to be for Christian to be her son right? His dad looked nor mal too, but Christian said he is the leader of their pack.

"My name is Grace," the woman offers her hand. "I work in the emergency room at the local hospital, so I'm trained to treat most injuries."

"I'm Ana."

"Nice to meet you Ana. Can you tell me what happened?"

"I….fell down the stairs."

"Fell?"

"Yeah."

"Okay," she shakes her head slightly and I don't doubt for a minutes that she believes me.

"I landed on my wrist," I lift the sleeve to show her the bruising and swelling. "But I think I hit my ankle on one of the steps, or maybe I landed on that too? I'm not really sure."

"I can take an x ray of both, but the swelling might be too bad to show us the break right now. You'll probably need to come back in a few days for another set of x rays before we can determine how bad the breaks are."

"Oh….okay," I don't know where I'm going to be in a few days but I suppose right now it isn't important.

"Where did the bears find you?" she looks at my hand.

"I was…in the woods, a few hours from Vegas. I had fallen asleep and woke up….wait how did you know about the bears?"

"These my dear are definitely bear claw marks," she presses gently on my hand. "Did they hurt you anywhere else?"

"No," I shake my head. "I screamed as soon as I woke up and saw them. Christian….he got there just after they did this. Then um….Taylor came and helped out."

"That's my boys," she shakes her head. "Did you know they weren't even supposed to be in the woods that night? They were supposed to have flown home, but neither of those men can stand to be closed up for too long so they decided they were going to run home rather than fly."

"I didn't know that," I shiver at the thought of what might have happened if they hadn't gotten there.

"Any other injuries? Maybe old ones that need to be checked out?"

"I…I'm pretty sure my ribs were broken about a month ago. I looked up a few things online and it seemed to fit with what I was feeling. They said there wasn't anything that could be done about it though."

"There isn't as long as it doesn't puncture your lungs which is rare, but I'll get an image of your ribs as well. Now before we begin, I need to ask is there any chance that you're pregnant?"

"God no," I answer quickly relieved that if nothing else I took every precaution to ensure that didn't happen.

"You're sure? Because we can take certain precautions if you are to ensure the radiation-"

"I'm not pregnant; my last period was less than a week ago."

"Okay, just wanting to make sure before we started."

The x ray process is uncomfortable to say the least; Grace explained that she needs to take several pictures of each area to make sure she can see everything. The constant moving of my ankle and wrist has me near tears by the time she's finished.

"I'm so sorry dear," she hands me two tablets and a bottle of water. "Take this, it'll help with the pain."

"What is it?"

"Just a high dose of ibuprofen; it's the equivalent of taking a few of the ones you can get over the counter."

Trusting her, I quickly swallow the pills, hoping that they'll quickly help like she said.

"You have a nice egg here," she feels the back of my head.

"I forgot about that…I think that was from the stairs too."

"Did you lose consciousness?"

"Not then."

"But you did at some point?"

"When the…they were fighting."

"Who was fighting?"

"The bears and….the wolves."

"You lost consciousness then?"

"I don't remember much; but the next thing I knew I was in the van with the…wolves."

Part of me is still waiting for her to tell me I'm crazy, that there were no wolves there. That I have a concussion and a side effect of that is hallucinations because that's the only thing that makes sense. I know the bears were there because I have the marks to prove it; perhaps just the wolves weren't real then. But then how could two humans chase away three huge bears? I shake my head, none of it making any sense.

"Did you vomit at all?"

"No."

"You might have a mild concussion, but you may have also just passed out because of the adrenaline drop when your subconscious recognized you were finally safe."

"Which means I probably didn't hallucinate…"

"Hallucinate?" Damn, I hadn't meant to say that aloud. "Oh, the wolves…you didn't hallucinate my dear. The wolves were very much real."

"I…I don't understand…how is that possible?"

"There are only a few thousand shifters in the entire world, less than one thousand here in the United States," she sits on the stool in front of me slowly wrapping my ankle in an ace bandage. "We live in close nit groups known as packs, much like wolves and other animals do in the wild. Just like those packs, there is a leader of our group who is my husband, Christian's father. The alpha is essentially responsible for the entire pack; keeping everyone safe, making sure that our secret remains a secret, seeing that everyone's needs are met and fostering relationships with other packs."

"We keep our true identity a secret, which is why you never hear about us," she moves onto my wrist as she continues. "If you encounter us in society, we act like everyone else. As I said, I work in an emergency room of a large hospital; Christian's father works operates a small law firm with Christian and his brother Elliot yet no one we interact with on a daily basis has any idea what our true identity is."

"Why? Why not just tell people?"

"People wouldn't understand," she sighs. "There's a story that has been passed down from generation to generation across all the packs of someone who did in fact find out about a shifter. They were essentially kidnapped from their family and taken prisoner by the government."

"Why?"

"According to them, it was for national security. Thousands of medical tests were performed, against the person's will. Psychological tests followed and the entire time he was deprived contact with his pack. The pack is probably a hard thing for most people to understand because that's not typical in your world. For us, our pack is our family….it's who we are. We take care of each other, we protect each other, we love each other. When one of us is hurt, everyone comes together to help out. Being separated from a pack, living on your own outside of a pack, it's unheard of. It's not something anyone wants; in fact it feels unnatural to us. Yet that's what they forced this shifter to do. He died while in custody only a few months after he was taken. He couldn't survive without his pack."

"They killed him."

"Essentially yes, though the government of course denied any involvement. So you see, that's why no one can know we exist because curiosity will win out and we will suffer. To keep our secret, we tend to stay under the radar even as humans. We don't get involved in politics, or became overly successful in our fields even though we could…"

"Or save humans from fights with other animals…"

"No, that's where you're wrong. Christian and Taylor acted as I would expect them to; in fact if they sat back and did nothing they would be dealing with our alpha. We are protective creatures by nature, but especially in our wolf form. It would have been in their nature to help you. It doesn't happen too often, but it has happened a few times that while in our wolf form we've assisted in humans."

"Then how do you keep it a secret?"

"Because typically, it's never revealed that we're shifters. Typically, we just ensure that they get the help that they need. Calling 911 anonymously and providing the location, for example. The person goes to the hospital talking about a wolf who scared away another animal from harming them or helped them get away from a dangerous situation. The hospital chalks it up to a concussion or their mind's way of dealing with the trauma."

"Why didn't they do that with me?"

"I don't know, but I've never seen my son act the way he does around another woman."

"What do you mean?"

"He was so focused on you, as if none of us where here. And him taking you to his house? Even if he didn't or couldn't get you help outside the pack, he could have brought you here. He could have had his father as the leader of our pack, deal with the situation and get you whatever help you needed."

"Why didn't he?"

"I'm not sure, that's only something he can answer," the look in her eyes says that she knows more than she wants to say which doesn't make sense. Christian didn't even call to tell them we were coming here so I don't understand how she could know more than what she's saying.

"Well, I'll be out of your hair soon enough," I shake my head. "I'm going to find a motel for tonight and then figure out where I'm heading from here."

"Dear, you can't go to a motel," she argues. "You show up at any motel, even the crappy ones, you're going to raise some eyebrows given your bruises. Not to mention with possibly broken ankle and wrist, you're going to be in a wheelchair for a few weeks at least."

"Really?" I'm fucking screwed….

"You'll be safe here Ana," she squeezes my uninjured hand gently. "I promise you that we won't let the man who did this to you find you."

"I don't have much cash, but whatever I'll give you whatever I have to cover my expenses. There's more in my account but if I take the money from it-"

"Let me check the x ray and then we can go find Christian, I have a feeling he's pacing the living room waiting for us."

She goes to a closet and pulls out a wheelchair before helping me from the table. Crutches would be a pain in the ass but they wouldn't be as bad as a wheelchair is but with my arm in a sling I wouldn't be able to manage with crutches.

"Are you okay if I share with Christian what the x ray shows?" she asks before we move into another room.

"I guess," I shrug. Can I really say no given everything he's done for me? I don't understand why he's even doing all of this; he could have just dropped me off a motel or even a hospital.

 **CPOV:**

"Want to tell me what's going on?" Surprisingly Dad waits a few minutes after we're back in the living room before questioning me.

"Isn't it obvious? She needed a doctor."

"That isn't what I meant and you know it," he says sternly.

"I don't know."

"Sawyer tells me she was passed out at the farmhouse when he arrived. Why not just call an ambulance from there?"

"I…I don't know."

"Son, you know we have protocol for dealing with situations like this-"

"I know! I know I should have left her at the farmhouse; I knew her injuries weren't life threatening and she would have been safe there."

"But…"

"I don't know why I didn't. Honestly, it didn't even occur to me to leave her there."

"Why not?"

"When Sawyer pulled up, we loaded her in the van and took off…to bring us here."

"But you didn't bring her here, you brought her to your cabin."

"I know."

"You could have brought her here, your mother and I would have handled the situation."

"I know Dad."

"Sawyer said you were very protective of the girl, that you wouldn't leave her side."

"I guess."

I can't help but keep looking towards the hallway, hoping that even though I didn't hear the door open to the exam room that Ana will be coming down the hall. Of course I'm protective of her; someone fucking hurt her. She hasn't said much about what happened, who hurt her or why she was in the woods last night, but I know she's scared. I could hear it in her voice in the van and the way she held herself even as I carried her in here.

"Even Taylor said he's never seen you like this before."

"What do you want me to say? I don't know! All I can say is I want, I need to make sure whoever did that to her doesn't find her ever again."

"I get it son, I do," he puts his hand on my shoulder before sitting down on the couch opposite of me. "Bringing her here put us at risk-"

"Shit Dad, I wasn't thinking-"

"I know you weren't; everyone knows you wouldn't intentionally do anything to harm the pack. That's why I think you're drawn to her for a reason, because under any other circumstance you should have left her at the farmhouse and call 911. I think she's your-"

"Don't say it," I warn. "Even if I did believe in that shit, which I don't, did you fail to notice that she's a human?"

"Of course I noticed-"

"So you think that a wolf's mate could be a human? That somehow not only did our DNA change to the point that we can only love one other in the this entire world, but that somehow a human's DNA also changed? It doesn't make sense."

"It's not unheard of, you know that. Just because it hasn't happened in our pack, doesn't mean it won't."

"A human and shifter falling in love, fine I'll buy it. But I don't buy this whole mate shit…you know that."

"One day you will, especially if she's really your…who I think she is, you're going to see what I mean soon enough."

"And how would you know that it's not just because we like each other rather than our DNA being imprinted on one another."

"Because you'll know; trust me the bond that forms when you claim your mate is like nothing you've ever experienced before. You'll believe in that moment."

"I doubt it."

He goes to the kitchen and grabs two bottles of water, handing me one as he sits back down. Once again my eyes drift to the hallway; I wish I could hear what was going on in the exam room but without shifting there's no way I can hear through all the walls separating us. Unable to sit still much longer, I get up and start pacing the small carpet in front of the couches. I'm not the only one becoming impatient; my wolf keeps trying to come out, he needs to know she's okay even more than I do which makes no sense.

"You know your mother is taking good care of her."

"I know."

"What's your plan?"

"My plan?"

"Will she be staying with you at the cabin? Do you want us to set her up in a room upstairs or does she want to go to a motel-"

"No," I quickly interrupt at the idea of her staying anywhere else but with me. "She's not going to a motel; it's not safe for her."

"You want me to have Gretchen prepare a room for her-"

"No, she's staying with me."

"I thought she might be," he smirks.

I hear the door opening down the hallway, fucking finally. I let out the breath I didn't know I was holding when Ana finally enters the room; it takes me several minutes to realize she's in a wheelchair. Just seeing her puts my wolf at ease; he's no longer biting at the bit to come out though he's definitely still not happy about the bruises on her beautiful body.

"Is she okay?" I ask.

"I'm fine," Ana answers but I look at my mom knowing that Ana has repeatedly told me she's fine even though the bruises covering her beautiful body say otherwise.

"I suspect her ankle is broken, but the swelling is too great to get a decent picture. So for now, I'm treating it as if it's broken. The more she can elevate her ankle, the quicker the swelling will come down and in a few days we can try to get another x ray. Her wrist is badly sprained, but not broken. Still it needs to stay wrapped and in the sling for a couple of weeks at least. Her ribs are healing nicely and don't appear to have been redamaged in the fall."

"The fall?" I look at Ana but she looks away. "What does she need?"

"Rest, lots of rest, she needs to stay off the ankle as much as possible," she hands me a bottle. "These should help with the pain; Ana you can take these every four to six hours."

"Thank you."

"If you need anything, either of you, just let me know. I'll need to see her in a few days Christian, but if you need me before then I can stop by," Mom says.

I step around the wheelchair and hug her, thanking her before I turn and nod to my dad. Taking the handles of the wheelchair I gently push Ana out of the house and to the couple of steps at the end of the porch. I hit the unlock button on the key fob before lifting Ana out of the seat.

"Oh!"

"You can't walk," I grumble as I carry her to the SUV.

"Who's is this?"

"Mine," I pull the door open and gently place her on the front seat. "The van belongs to the pack, it's kept here until someone needs it."

"Oh."

"I'm going to grab the chair and load it into the back," I explain.

The drive back to my cabin is quick; Ana is quiet the entire ride back. Once I park the car, I bring the wheelchair inside the cabin thankful for the relatively open floor plan of the space. The bedrooms are upstairs but otherwise she can access all the other rooms with the wheelchair. When I open the passenger door to the SUV she jumps in surprise but her eyes are wide as she stares out the front window. I immediately look out, my wolf stirs as well sniffing the area for danger, but there's nothing out of the ordinary.

"Ana? What's wrong?"

"There…." She points off in the woods. "There's….a wolf just….ran…."

"You're safe Ana, they won't hurt you."

"How do you know? What if they're not….what if it's not like you? What if it comes after me like the bears did? What if-"

"Shhhhh," I end her questions by lifting her out of the SUV. Like before she leans against my chest, relaxing just a little against me as I walk. "Any wolves you see around here, are part of the pack."

"But how-"

"Let's get you settled and I'll explain okay?"

She nods and I gently place her on the couch where she was sitting earlier; I cringe when she winces as she tries to adjust herself. It's fucking killing me not knowing who this bastard Tony is and where he is. I quickly push down my wolf and grab two cold drinks from the fridge before heading back to the living room.

"Do you need anything else?"

"No….thank you."

"Okay….so the obvious, you're going to see wolves around," I know I need to reassure her so she doesn't freak out when she sees one again especially if they're closer to her than off in the distance like this one was. "The pack owns about one thousand acres, so everything you see out there is included. We all live here…on the land. A pack…it's difficult to explain, because it's not like anything in your world…"

"Grace…she explained some of it to me."

"Oh okay. We protect each other, we protect the pack and our land. As the alpha, my father has a security team that watches over our land boundaries and ensures that no one enters who shouldn't. That's how I know without even seeing the wolf you saw, that it's someone from the pack. If a normal wolf approached our boundaries, alarms would be triggered and he would have been captured and relocated to another area."

"Oh."

"It's not unusual to see wolves running through the woods behind the cabin; while we each have our own cabin and small yard it's understood that it's the pack's space. We don't have the strict rules that you do in your world where you build fences around your yards to keep people out. Besides open space is important for wolves; we need to run. It's hard to explain, but if our wolves are kept in too long they get antsy and become short tempered. They need the freedom and space to roam, to run and to hunt sometimes."

She shakes her head as she stares at me.

"I'm not doing a good job explaining it," I run my hands through my hair. "I've never had to explain it to someone before."

"No, it's not that. I get what you're saying, but…."

"But?"

"It's just so hard to picture you as a wolf. I just don't get it; I don't get how….I don't get any of it. The wolf in the van, you look nothing like him. If it weren't for your eyes, I would be questioning my sanity more than I already am."

"You're questioning your sanity?" I chuckle.

"Do you have any idea how crazy this even sounds? Until I saw your mother, I was certain I had a concussion and was hallucinating seeing you and Taylor as…wolves."

"And now?"

"I don't know," she shakes her head. "Your mother told me I'm not hallucinating and what I saw was real but it's so hard to wrap my head around it."

"You don't need to figure it out all right now, give it some time and maybe it'll start to make sense."

"I don't think this will ever make sense," she giggles, a sound I vow to hear more of. "Oh I wanted to give you something."

"Me?" she reaches behind her to the table where I set her bag when we first arrived. From it she pulls a wad of money and holds her hand out to me.

"What's that for?"

"It's not much; I could only take out a few hundred from the ATM per day and I can't get any more without him knowing where I am-"

"Why are you trying to give it to me?"

"I wanted to stay at a motel-"

"No."

"That's what your mom said," she sighs. "I know it's not much, but it's all I have for now."

"Why are you trying to give it to me?"

"I don't expect you to let me stay here for free; it's not much but it'll help cover-"

"I'm not taking your money."

"But-"

"No. Put it away; I'm not taking your money."

"I can't stay here for free."

"Why not? I have an extra bedroom and you need a place to rest, to heal and to stay safe."

"Why are you doing this?"

"Why?"

"Why do all this? You could have just dropped me off somewhere and called 911; that's what your mom said it protocol when things like this happen."

"I don't know; I have fucking idea why I didn't do just that," I snap tired of everyone fucking asking me why I didn't do exactly that. "I couldn't leave you out there; I couldn't…I had to know you were safe."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chpt. 4 APOV:**

"Thank you," I say after a few minutes of silence.

"For?" he asks sharply.

"For not leaving me and just calling 911 or having the driver just drop me off at an emergency room somewhere. He….he would have found me if you had done that."

"Tony?"

"Yeah," I whisper.

"Who is he? Did he do this to you?"

"He's…he's my husband."

"Your husband did that?!"

He's up from the chair he had been sitting in and pacing the floor, the look of shock evident on his face. His fists are balled and he looks…angry isn't even the right word, furious maybe. Which really doesn't make any sense, it's not like he knows me. I watch as he paces the floor in front of the couch, not sure what to say.

"There's so many things I'll never understand about your world," he mumbles as he walks past me.

"It happens everywhere," I shrug.

"Not here," he turns and hisses. "I spoke with my father after Elliot represented a woman who had been…abused by her husband, he said in all the packs history, even across the other packs he has never heard of a case of abuse. It's not in our nature; we protect our families, our wives, our community. We don't take our anger out on others."

"Consider yourself lucky," I sigh. "It happens all too often everywhere else."

"I'll never understand how someone stays…fuck I'm sorry-"

"I was leaving him," I interrupt firmly. "He hit me three times during our mariage; the first time he apologized profusely and told me how horrible he felt. He swore he would never do it again, that it was a one time thing and that I had nothing to worry about. Stupidly I believed him and for a couple of months I thought I would never see that side of him again."

"What happened?" Christian practically growls at me.

"I'm not even sure," I shake my head. "He had come home in a rotten mood that day, which wasn't out of the ordinary but he usually cooled down after a drink or two. But that night, something was different because he remained on edge all night. He stormed into the kitchen, catching me off guard because I thought he was still in his office. I had been washing the dinner dishes and dropped a plate when he startled me…he…he freaked out. I had never seen him that angry before; he….he punched me in the face and pushed me so hard into the island that a couple of ribs ended up cracking."

"Fucking bastard," despite his obvious angry tone, I'm not scared of him. Like somehow I know that he won't hurt me, which is almost funny considering it wasn't that long ago that I was convinced that he would kill me.

"I should have left after that night; he had a look in his eye when he took in the immediate bruising around my eye that I'll never forget," I shiver at the memory of that look.

"Why didn't you?"

"I should have," I sigh. "But by that point I had no one to turn to. He was controlling, something I didn't' recognize at first. It was small things and he would always make an excuse; telling me he was screening my calls, my emails, my text messages for my own safety. He would tell me that there were threats against him because of his business and that he was doing it to keep me safe. What I didn't realize then was that he was slowly cutting me off from anyone outside of his circle. So the next day when he came home with flowers, a bottle of wine and an apology I was torn. I told him that I refused to live like that and that if he hit me one more time that I would leave him."

"That's why you were in the woods that night, you were running from him."

"I warned him, I told him I would leave if he hit me again," I repeat. "I went to his office to tell him dinner was done, like he told me to, but I didn't knock and ended up interrupting a call he was on. He split my lip the moment he walked into the kitchen. It was the last straw."

"He broke your leg and nearly your wrist because you told him you were leaving him?"

"No, that happened when I was leaving. He sat down to eat, as if nothing happened and I went upstairs to grab the bag I had packed after…the last time. I guess he came to see what I was doing because when I turned around he was standing in the bedroom doorway. We argued at the top of the steps and he pushed me."

"He fucking pushed you down the steps?"

"He stood at the top of the stairs and laughed at me; he told me that no one ever leaves him. He was going to do me a favor and give me an hour head start before he sent his guys to look for me. He warned me when they brought me back that he wouldn't go easy on me, his words."

"Fuck Ana."

"I drove for awhile, but I knew he could track my movements by my phone and I'm sure he had something on the car. So I found a rest stop, took cash out of the ATM and tried to grab as much as I could. I knew that I couldn't carry the duffel bag that I had originally packed, my ankle was going to be hard enough to walk on let alone with the added weight of a fully packed duffel bag. So I took a few things and left the rest in the car."

"Where's the phone now?"

"I left it in the car."

"Thank fuck for that," he runs his hands through his hair continuing to pace the room. He hasn't stopped moving since we started talking. I have no idea why I'm telling him all of this; I've never told anyone about those two times. I never told anyone about how controlling he was, yet I'm telling Christian everything.

"He's never going to find you," when I look up he's kneeling on the floor next to the couch. "He'll never hurt you again."

"He would have already found me if it wasn't for you," I smile sadly at him. "I wouldn't have been able to go much further and definitely not very fast. I doubt he would have thought I would have hiked into the woods, but when I showed up in the next town and tried to buy supplies someone would have contacted him. I never could have made it this far away from Vegas without you. Hell I might not have made it through the night if it wasn't for you."

"You could go to the police-"

"No, God no," I shake my head adamantly.

"He should pay for what he did to you," he growls at me.

"I can't…they won't help me, hell half of them probably work for him."

"He shouldn't be able to get away with that!" he waves his hand over me clearly referring to my injuries.

"I know, but they won't help me. Please, I just need…just a couple of days and I'll be out of your hair then I'll be out of your hair."

"Where would you go?"

"I…I don't know. I just need to stay as far away from Vegas as possible; I can never go back there. I'll figure it out as I go-"

"No."

"No?"

"You…you'll stay here."

"Just a for a few days, then I'll-"

"Stay."

He's back to pacing the floor, leaving me more confused than I was earlier and that's saying a lot. I want to ask him what he meant by stay because it sure as hell sounded like he was saying I should stay here longer than the few days I was talking about which makes even less sense. Why would he be insisting I stay here longer? I would think he would be glad for me to get out of his hair, for him to not have to worry about me. If I thought I could, I'd walk out his front door right now but even I know I can't do that. I'm hoping once a cast is on my ankle that I'll be able to move around better; I'm probably far enough away from Vegas that I can take a bus somewhere.

"Here, you need to eat," he places a plate with a sandwich on my lap along with a bottle of water.

"Thank you," I wasn't hungry until he put the food in front of me but now I'm suddenly starving.

"I need…I'm going to go out for a little while."

"Oh…okay."

"You'll be safe here; outsiders don't come onto our land."

"Okay."

"Here, take my phone," he places his cell phone on the couch next to me. "If you need me, call Taylor…his number is in the contacts. His wife might answer if we're out running, but tell her you need to talk to me and she'll…get a hold of me."

"Running…so you're going to…"

"Yeah, my wolf….he's…. I can't keep him down for much longer. He's not….I just need to let him run for awhile."

"Oh."

"I'll be back soon, if you need anything call."

"I'll be fine."

I watch as he walks towards the back of the cabin, the back door closes a few minutes later leaving me alone in Christian's home.

 **CPOV:**

Shedding my clothes before the back door slams shut, I quickly stop fighting and let my wolf come out. Keeping him inside while listening to what that bastard did to Ana took all the strength I had; I've never had to fight so hard to keep him at bay. Even when I first learned to shift, it wasn't this hard. Fuck in there, he was begging to come out. He wanted to go after that fucking bastard. Hell he still does, but at least letting him run right now is helping…a little. He wants to kill the fucking bastard and honestly part of me does as well.

"What's with the urgency?" Taylor runs up aside me.

"Fuck man…."

"What's going on? Is Elliot okay? Your mom? Or-"

"They're fine," I quickly assure him. The entire pack would know if something was wrong with my dad; rarely anything happens to the alpha without the pack knowing. "It's Ana-"

"What's wrong? Are her injuries worse than we thought? Was your mom not able to help her?"

"Mom helped her; she's fairly certain her ankle is broken though she needs to wait until the swelling comes down to confirm and her wrist is badly sprained."

"She tell you who did it?"

"Yeah…fuck man….would you believe it was her fucking husband?"

"I had a feeling it might have been."

"Really? I knew she was on the run, that that's the reason she was in the woods last night but…I don't fucking understand their men," I stop and look out over the vast land the pack owns. Small and large cabins are sprawled out but there's still plenty of open space for us to run and hunt.

"I don't either, fuck just the idea of Gail hurting nearly kills me. How could they hurt the woman they love?"

"I…fuck if I know. She won't go to the cops, she says they won't help her. She thinks they might be working for him."

"She tell you anything about him?"

"Just his first name; I didn't ask anything else."

"Really?"

"Yeah….I was afraid if I asked I wouldn't have been able to control my wolf. He….fuck man, I've never felt him act like that before."

"He wanted to kill him."

"Yeah."

"He's protective of her."

"What the fuck do I do?"

"You keep her safe, let her heal."

"She's talking about leaving in a few days."

"And?"

"And what? Fuck Taylor you saw her she fucking leave! At this point she can't even stand up by herself!"

"You don't want her to leave."

"I want her to be safe and there's no way she can do that on her own with her injuries."

"Have you given any more thought to the possibility that your wolf feels so strongly about her because she's-"

"Shut it."

"Just saying, when I first found Gail my wolf was protective and practically possessive of her. Just another guy looking in her direction had me wanting to rip him from piece to piece."

"The first time you saw her?"

"He knew way before I did; you know I didn't believe in that mate shit."

"Yet here you are."

"Here I am."

Gail and Taylor have been together just a few months now, but the way they are with each other you would think they've been together for much longer. Gail moved into Taylor's cabin about a month or so ago; I'm glad he's happy but still can't believe he jumped on the whole mate bandwagon. Even if I did believe in a mate, how the fuck do you explain that she's a human? As if life as a shifter isn't complicated enough, you have to add in having a human as a mate? Yeah, not going to happen.

"What did your dad say about her?"

"Nothing really," I think back over the conversation we had earlier today. "He was surprised I didn't call 911 for her and let an ambulance pick her up from Kate's grandfather's farm or that I didn't bring her straight to him to deal with when we got back."

"Was he mad?"

"No, surprisingly he wasn't. He said he knew I wouldn't have purposely put the pack in danger, which for whatever reason never even occurred to me when I told Sawyer to bring us back to my place."

"To be honest it only briefly entered my mind when you had Sawyer put her in the van."

"You didn't say anything."

"You saw her….she was obviously not a threat to us and I think needed our help more than anything; that's why I didn't say anything. It's still a risk though, if she leaves here for good…will she keep what she saw and now knows to herself? I think she will but we can't know for certain."

Yeah I don't miss his word choice…saying if she leaves because he's fucking convinced she's my mate which means she won't be leaving the pack no matter what I say.

"She won't say anything."

"You get a little more information on this Tony guy and we can have the team look into him."

"I know; I should have pressed further and gotten his last name but fuck man I've never had to fight shifting so much. I needed to get out of there or I think it would have happened right in front of her and she's not ready to see that."

"No, I'm sure she's not," he chuckles. "I imagine she's just getting her head wrapped around what we are."

"She thought she was hallucinating," I laugh with him needing to lighten the mood a little. "She thought she hallucinated the entire thing."

"Can't say I blame her."

"Me either."

"You said she was married…we can have the team run a background check on her and then-"

"I didn't get her last name either," I shake my head.

"Okay…well find out someone's last name and we can get a search going on him; let's make sure he stays in Vegas."

"She mentioned that he threatened to send his guys after her, so it might not be enough to just keep an eye on him."

"Hmmmm."

"What?"

"She's afraid the police are working for him and he has guys he threatened to send after her; sounds like an interesting character."

"Yeah, I know," I sigh. "I'll see what I can find out; I just….I don't want to push her. I think…I'm pretty sure she barely trusts me right now, which I can't blame her given everything…"

"But you don't want to ruin it."

"Yeah."

"Well, she's safe right now and we'll keep her that way. Having info on who this bastard is would help, but even without it we can keep her safe. We're pretty far from Vegas and we're not a huge tourist spot so I think chances of him coming out here and finding her by chance will be slim but still you might want to suggest she stay within in the pack for awhile."

"Plan on it."

"You good? Gail wanted to go for a quick run tonight before bed, but if you need me to stay-"

"Go, thanks for…running with me tonight."

"Anytime."

I watch as Taylor takes off towards his cabin, running faster than we were obviously eager to get back to Gail. I take a long look over the vast lands before turning around and heading back to my cabin. I let out a sigh of relief when I finally reach the cabin, seeing only the soft light from the living room on and my SUV parked in the driveway. Even though she wouldn't have made it far and I would have heard about it from my dad right away, I couldn't help but worry that she might have tried to leave while I was with Taylor. I don't know that I would blame her; she's suddenly thrust into a world she knows nothing about and is sharing a home with a practical stranger. I quickly shift and grab the clothes I left on the porch, the last thing she needs is to see me walking naked into the living room.

Heading into the cabin, I'm greeted with complete silence. I rush into the living room, my wolf eager to lay eyes on Ana, not putting faith in the obvious signs that she's still here. We both let out a sigh of relief when we finally enter the room and find her. Sound asleep, in nearly the same position she was when I left is Ana on my living room couch. The wheelchair is closer to the couch than it was earlier, which is the only sign that she moved at all since I left. I quickly run upstairs and turn a couple of the lights on so I don't bring Ana up here in the complete darkness. I pull back the blankets on the bed and grab one of my T-shirts and a pair of shorts from my bedroom for her to sleep in. I should have thought about it before, her clothes are dirty from the night spent in the woods. I should have offered her clean clothes and a shower, but all I could think about was getting her to my mother to get checked out. At least tonight she can be in clean clothes, I'll have to ask my mom tomorrow the best way for her to take a bath.

I head back downstairs, taking a few minutes to lock up and turn off the lights, the stairwell light provides enough light to ensure I don't fall over anything. I decide to bring the chair up to the bedroom before Ana, this way if she wakes up and needs to use the restroom or something the chair is already there. Within a few minutes I'm back downstairs, in front of the couch where she's remained sound asleep. However that changes the moment I slip my arms under her legs and back.

"No! Don't touch me!" she screams out and immediately I step back, putting my hands up so she can see them. Her eyes are frantic as she searches the room, though I'm not sure what she's looking for since it's only the two of us here.

"Ana? It's Christian….I just wanted to bring you upstairs to bed."

"Christian," she sounds relieved to see me.

"You okay?" I slowly step back towards her.

"Yeah…I guess it was just a nightmare."

"Want to talk about it."

"I think it's just a sign I'm overtired," she giggles. "I was back at…his house, we were arguing at the top of the stairs but this time when he pushed me, the bears were at the bottom of them waiting for me. They kept circling me; they looked like they wanted to eat me alive."

"There's no one here but you and me; no one, not the bears and not the fucker who did this to you, will get close to you. You're safe here."

"I know."

"You ready to head upstairs to bed?"

"Upstairs?"

"All the bedrooms are up there, plus two full bathrooms. I moved your chair up there and have the room ready for you."

"It would probably be easier if I just slept here-"

"You'd be uncomfortable as hell sleeping on the couch," I quickly interrupt. "My mom said you need rest and lots of it; you're not going to get that on a couch."

"But-"

"No," without giving her any warning, which I probably should have given, I slip my arms back under her and quickly lift her until she's leaning against my chest.

"Oh!"

Her uninjured hand grasps my shirt in a fist but otherwise she doesn't move as I carry her upstairs to the guest bedroom. When I first moved into the cabin, I was in no hurry to set up the extra bedrooms; I didn't see the point in having guest bedrooms. Who the hell would come and stay here? Even if shifters from other packs came for a visit they would all stay at my parent's house; that's one of the alpha's responsibilities and they have more than enough space for it. But my mom insisted that I should have at least one bedroom set up for guests, just in case. Right now, I'm grateful she insisted on that, otherwise Ana would be in my bed and I would be the one sleeping on the couch.

"I brought you a change of clothes to sleep in," I gesture towards the end of the bed as I sit her down on it. "I should have offered you something to wear earlier, and a shower-"

"You've done more than enough, thank you," it's her turn to interrupt.

"I'll talk to my mom tomorrow and find out if we need to do anything special for you to take a bath."

"Thanks."

"The bathroom is right across the hall, you should be able to get the chair in and out of there without a problem. My bedroom is just next door, if you need anything just yell."

"Thank you."

"Good night Ana."

"Good night Christian."

 _Kiss her, take her into your bed._

I close my eyes as I walk out of the room, urging my wolf back down. I don't understand him, he's never like this with women. Even when I would meet someone at a club in town and got close to them, he never came to the surface. Most of the time, he didn't seem like he cared if I went home with the woman or by myself so him wanting to kiss Ana and take her to bed makes no fucking sense. None at all.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chpt. 5 APOV:**

When I finally open my eyes, I have no idea what time it is but for the first time in months I feel rested. When I open my eyes it takes me several long minutes to figure out where I am, the memories of the last two days come rushing to the surface. The reminder again comes when I roll to my side towards the sunlight beaming through a set of large windows. Immediately my body screams in protest that I moved; not just my ankle and wrist but muscles cry from over usage. Something on the nightstand catches my eye; forcing myself to sit up, a small smile forms at the kind gesture.

Ana,

My mom said to take two of these when you wake up; it's fine to take on an empty stomach. When you're ready to come down, just yell. Or if you don't want to come down and just need something to eat yell. Or if you need help with something, yell. I left your door open so I could hear you from downstairs.

Hope you're feeling better.

~ Christian ~

I don't know what I did, but finally something feels like it's going my way even if it's only for a few days, I have a safe place to recover. Even if it's the craziest thing I've ever experienced and that no one would ever believe me if I tried to tell them about wolves who saved me from bears who then turned into men. I open the bottle of water Christian left for me and take the pain medicine before lying back against the soft pillows. I know I should probably get up, but part of me is perfectly content to just lay here for the rest of the day. Of course I don't though, I doze off for a little longer this time when I wake up I'm able to move a little easier without as much pain. My ankle is still swollen and all sorts of different colors, but the swelling in my wrist has gone down a little. I awkwardly slide from the bed into the wheel chair, careful not to put any weight on my ankle and push myself across the hall to the bathroom. I quickly use the bathroom, wash my face and brush my teeth with the new toothbrush and toothpaste Christian must have put in here for me during the night. When I open the door I nearly scream when I see Christian waiting for me.

"Sorry, I…I heard you up and wanted to see if you needed anything. I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's fine," I assure him.

"I wasn't sure if you'd want to come down to eat breakfast…well lunch-"

"Tell me it's not that late," I groan.

"It's just after two-"

"You shouldn't have let me sleep that late!"

"Why not? I talked with my mom this morning, she said rest was the most important thing you needed right now. She said I shouldn't worry given…everything you've been through recently."

"I didn't realize how tired I was until my head hit the pillow."

"Are you feeling better?"

"The pills you left me helped, thank you."

By the look in his eye, he knows I avoided answering his question. I'm feeling somewhat better, but my ankle continues to throb, my wrist hurts when I try to use my hand to push the wheelchair around and my muscles still ache. But I'm better than I was when I first woke up which is something. There's no point in complaining about it through; right now I'm safe, even if it's only temporary.

"Let me," he quickly takes control of the chair when he sees me make a move to push myself back into the bedroom. Part of me wants to object, to insist that I can do it myself, but the other part of me that feels the discomfort in moving my wrist is much more agreeable. Christian wheels me back into the bedroom, stopping next to the bed where I notice my clothes from yesterday are now lying on the bed. "I washed your clothes this morning while you were sleeping; I didn't see very much in the bag that you had with you. Not that I was looking, I mean I was when we first found you but just for a blanket-"

"Thank you," I interrupt him. "You're right, there wasn't very much in the bag; I left nearly everything else in my larger duffel bag in the car at the rest stop."

"These are clean, but when I run into town I can pick you up some other clothes."

"I'd appreciate that."

"Are you hungry? I can make something for lunch, or maybe you want to take a bath? My mom thought the jets in the tub might help if your muscles are sore."

I can't help the moan at escapes me at the mere thought of sitting in a jetted tub right now. Christian's eyes meet mine and for a brief second I think I see heat in them, but just like that it's gone. As he turns my chair around I'm left wondering what the look in his eyes meant. God knows no one could possibly find me attractive right now; I'm covered in cuts and bruises, not to mention a broken ankle. So clearly it wasn't heat that I saw in his eyes.

"Why are we in here?" I ask as pushes me into what is clearly his bedroom. Not only is it much larger than the one I slept in, but it smells just like him.

"The jetted tub is in my bathroom," he gestures to the bathroom door.

"Oh."

"Let me grab some towels," he disappears into the bathroom which gives me a chance to take in his room. I don't know what I was expecting, the room seems…normal. The dark blue walls give a warm feeling to the room without making it feel too small. His large bed dominates the room and before I can question it I picture myself lying in it.

"Expecting it to look like a cave?" he chuckles leaning against the bathroom doorframe having clearly caught me looking around.

"No…maybe…I don't know," I admit.

"I don't mind camping out, but when I'm like this," he gestures over his body, "I prefer a soft bed just like everyone else. My wolf on the other hand could care less and would be fine in a cave if we were out overnight."

"Oh."

"So…I can start the water in the tub for you, if you want to undress in here-"

"What?"

"When I talked to my mom this morning, she said the most important thing was to make sure that you didn't put any weight on your ankle. She's worried that if it is broken, even the slightest amount of weight could cause further injury."

"She mentioned something about that yesterday."

"I figure if you get undressed, you can wrap a towel around yourself. I'll wheel you into the bathroom and lift you into the tub, with the towel hopefully still around you."

"Oh….that makes sense."

"If you'd rather…if you'd feel better with someone else, I could ask Gail and maybe Kate, my brother's wife, to assist-"

"No," I quickly argue. "I…I mean, I don't want to bother anyone else."

I don't want anyone else seeing me like this; I don't want to see the pity in anyone else's eyes when they see the bruises. It's not like I can hide them and I know that my story of falling down the stairs doesn't explain my split lip or bruised eye. Christian is already doing so much for me, I don't want to bother anyone else.

"I won't…I mean if you're worried, you don't need to. I wouldn't…"

"I know," I assure him knowing what he's trying to say.

It doesn't make any sense and I probably shouldn't, but I trust Christian. I should probably be more cautious, be more concerned that Christian could shift into a wolf at any moment and hurt me…but I'm not. I don't know how to explain it, but some part of me knows that Christian won't hurt me; that I'm safe with him. I should probably be leery about trusting my own instincts considering how badly Tony duped me, but some part of me isn't even letting me consider that Christian is anything but genuine.

"It would probably be easier to get undressed on the bed right? I mean, you'd have more room…"

"It was easier that way last night," I go to stand on one foot to move to the bed but before I can even get completely up Christian has me in his arms and sets me on his soft bed.

"I could have gotten up here by myself."

"I know," he smirks and sets the towels on the bed beside me. "I'll go start the tub, just yell when you're done or if you need help or something."

He goes into the bathroom, leaving the door open a small crack which I know is just enough that he can hear me. Getting undressed takes so much longer than it used to, but after several minutes I'm sitting naked on Christian's bed wrapped in only a towel. Thankfully the towel is large enough to cover everything, however I can't secure it as tightly around me as I would like because that's near impossible to do while sitting down.

"I'm done," I call out and before I can even finish the word Christian has the door open. I don't miss his glance over me as I sit on his bed in nothing but a towel. Without saying a word, he simply lifts me in his arms and carries me into the bathroom. I hold the knot tightly at my chest, hoping like hell it doesn't suddenly come open. Once in the bathroom, he sets me down on the tile surrounding the large tub.

"I'm going to climb in-"

"Wait what?" I did not just hear him correctly. He does not think that I'm going to take a bath with him…does he?

"Shit, I didn't mean it like that," his cheeks blush when he realizes what I thought he meant. "I can't safely lower you into the tub from up there. I'm going to step into the tub and lower you to where the jets are. Then I'll get out."

"I'm sure I can do it myself," I argue.

"If your wrist wasn't sprained you could probably hold onto both sides of the tub and lower yourself, but I don't think you'd be able to do that right now without hurting yourself more."

Before I can argue he steps into the tub which is already more than half filled with water; in one quick move he has me in his arms and lowers me into the warm water of the tub. As he promised, as soon as I'm settled he's out of the tub and drying off with a towel he had left on the steps. The water is heavenly; I hadn't realized how much I needed this bath until right now. Even though I haven't even begun to wash up, I can feel the evidence of the last two days leaving my body. The dirt and dried blood that I couldn't reach yesterday finally washing off; my muscles starting to already relax in the warm water.

"Thank you Christian," I whisper and lean my head back on the tub.

"No problem," he's about to walk out of the bathroom when he turns around. "I won't come back in here, not until you call for me and tell me you're ready. I don't want you to…you can take off the towel while you're in there. If you want I mean, you don't have to if you'd feel better leaving it on. There's a clean towel next to you, when you're ready, just cover yourself with it and I'll lift you out."

"Thank you," I blush at his nervousness but thankfully he's out of the room before he can notice.

"Oh, the button to turn on the jets is to your left. Just wait until the water level is above them before turning it on."

"Okay."

Whereas Christian's bedroom was very masculine, the bathroom is completely different. It's bright and so much larger than I had expected. In addition to the large jetted tub, that could easily fit two, there is an equally large walk in shower plus a double vanity. When the water is over the jets, I press the button the Christian had indicated would turn them on and I vow to never leave the tub again. As Grace told Christian, the effects of the jets is almost immediate. I can feel some of the soreness in my muscles ease and in other areas, knots begin to loosen. I have no idea how long I sit there, letting the jets work their magic, but when I feel the water start to become cooler I realize I should probably get out even if it's the last thing I want to do. Using the washcloth and soap Christian left me, I quickly wash my body even though most of the dirt and dried blood has already come off. A bottle of shampoo catches my eye and before I can think of the logistics, I grab it realizing it's been days since I've been able to wash my hair.

"Ow!" I drop the bottle into the tub as pain seers through my wrist.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" Christian rushes into the bathroom, coming to a dead stop when he sees me. I quickly wrap an arm over my chest in complete and utter embarrassment. The movement must catch Christian's attention because he quickly turns around.

"Are you okay? You sounded hurt?" he asks.

"I…it's stupid," I sigh.

"What happened?"

"I wasn't thinking; I wanted to wash my hair but when I tried to open the lid on the bottle my wrist apparently disagreed with what I wanted. I guess it was the way I moved it or something…"

"If you want…I can help you."

"I couldn't ask you to-"

"You didn't; I offered. Use the towel I left to cover yourself; I can use the hand held attachment to wash your hair with."

"Are you sure you don't mind?" I feel horrible asking any more of him than I have already.

"I wouldn't have offered if I did."

I quickly grab the towel, which until he mentioned it I had completely forgotten about, and wrap it around me. It's awkward because I can't lift myself, but it covers just about everything. There's enough suds from the soap that I don't think Christian can see anything the towel might not cover under the water.

"I…I'm covered," I can still feel the heat on my face but to Christian's credit when he turns around his gaze doesn't go below my head.

"You have the shampoo?" he looks around.

"Oh yeah," it's not easy but I manage to find it while holding the towel to my chest with my injured hand. "It fell when I…"

"Can you lean forward a little?"

The moment I do as he asked I hear a catch in his breath, no doubt taking in the bruises on my back and sides from the fall. His fingers lightly graze over them sending chills through my body which I swear is always present whenever he touches me. He doesn't say anything but a few moments later he withdrawals his hand. His fingers gently massage my scalp, so thoroughly I'm convinced I could fall asleep.

"Are you okay like this?" he asks.

"Yeah…but if you keep doing that I might fall back to sleep," I giggle.

He continues a little longer before rinsing the shampoo from my hair; he steps away from the tub drying his hands off as I lean back against the tub.

"How are you feeling?"

"Better; your mom was right, the jets really helped."

"You can come in here whenever you want; it's the first time the tub has been used-"

"You've never used it?"

"No….can't say I'm much of a bath person," he chuckles.

"And…no one else…ever used it?" It's none of my business, but I'm sure one of his girlfriends would have used it if they stayed over. I can't explain it but for some reason I need to know his answer.

"No."

"Oh."

"Is there someone you want to call-"

"No!"

"I'm not talking about that Tony fucker; but family that would want to know you're safe?"

"No….I don't have any family," for as many times as I've said those words, you'd think they would have become easier to say but they never do.

"None?"

"I grew up in the foster care system, bounced from house to house until I eventually aged out of the system."

"I'm sorry; I can't imagine…"

"When that's all you've known," I shrug.

"Speaking of Tony-"

"He's not here is he?" I sit up quickly, my eyes immediately go to the open bathroom door as if I expect to see him there. As soon as his name is mentioned all logic disappears; logically I know he shouldn't have been able to find me out here, that I'm too far from Vegas for his reach, but that's still where my mind immediately goes.

"No," he lifts my chin with his fingers until I'm looking up at him. "He will never find you; he will never hurt you again."

"But you said-"

"All I did was mention his name," he reminds me. "I was going to ask you for his last name so we could-"

"No."

"If we know who he is, we can keep tabs on him. We can monitor where he is to make sure he doesn't get even remotely close to you."

"You can't," I shake my head adamantly. "If he knows you're looking for him, he'll find me."

"Ana, we have some of the best IT people in the world at our disposal; he won't know that we're watching him."

"No, I can't….I can't risk it."

"Okay," he runs his hands through his hair. "How about if you give me your last name? We can at least make sure no one is looking for you."

"I don't know…"

"Trust me Ana, trust me to keep you safe," he says softly. "No one will ever hurt you again, I promise."

"You're sure?"

I want to trust him, God I want to trust him so much. I want to trust that all the way out here, half way across the country, that Tony won't be able to find me and that the security measures that Christian said the pack has in place will protect me. But I still can't help but worry that somehow he's going to find me; I can't put Christian and his family at risk. I can't-

"Ana, stop," he says firmly. "You are safe here; you will always be safe here. Trust me…please."

"Steele."

"What?"

"My last name…is Steele."

I hope like hell that I didn't just sign my death certificate; that I can trust Christian to find a way to check without Tony finding out. If Tony somehow did manage to find me, there's no way he would let me walk out on him again. A shiver runs through my body at the thought of him finding me.

"You're getting cold, let's get you out of here," I nod, letting him think the reason for the shiver was the cool water.

Christian moves around the bathroom, gathering a couple of towels before setting them on the side of the tub.

"I figure we can do this the same way we did earlier. I'll lift you up set you on the towel; I'll step out so you can wrap a dry towel around you and then I'll bring you into the bedroom to get dressed. I have towels on the bed already so don't worry about completely drying yourself right away."

"Okay."

Christian steps into the tub and slips his arms under me. I try not to think about the fact that I'm naked except for a wet towel loosely wrapped around me, even so I can feel the heat rush to my face when I feel his arms against my bare thighs. I close my eyes as he lifts me, bringing me to his chest-

"Oh!" he gasps and I feel jolted for a second before he sits down on the side of the tub…with me on his lap.

"Are you okay?" I ask.

"Yeah," he chuckles. "I banged my ankle on the jet-"

"Are you bleeding? Are you hurt?" I try to look down but his grip tightens on me keeping me snug against his chest.

"I'm fine; just wasn't expecting it there."

"You're sure you're okay?"

With one hand still wrapped around me, he slips the other one out from under my legs and lifts my chin so I'm looking at him. His grey eyes immediately find mine; there's so much warmth in them but in other ways it's like he can see right through me. As if he can look past the bruises and cuts and see….me. The person I was before Tony; the person I was before I had to walk on egg shells everyday out of concern that the slightest thing I do will upset him.

"Ana," his thumb glides over my jaw.

"Christian," my breath hitches at his touch.


	6. Chapter 6

_Author's Note: Sorry for the delay in updates everyone. Life got a little crazy especially in the last week. If you're not already, be sure to join my facebook group so you can keep up to date on what's going on with my stories._

 **Chpt. 6 CPOV:**

"Christian."

My name on her lips is all it takes for me to lose the little hold I had left on my wolf. I can no longer fight the urge to feel her lips against mine and to taste her. I slowly lower my head, my eyes darting between her lips and her beautiful blue eyes, watching for any sign that she's not okay with what's about to happen. When her uninjured hand lands on my chest I freeze for a moment, waiting for her to push me away, but she doesn't. My wolf silently growls when he senses her acceptance; with patience I didn't know I even had I slowly bring my lips to hers.

My arm around her back tightens, gently bringing her even closer to me. When her hand tightens around the damp shirt on my chest, I bring my lips down to meet hers. Instead of closing my eyes like she does, I leave them open, needing to see her.

Take her. Claim her. She's yours.

My wolf is growling in need, or maybe desperation, and it's all I can do to keep him at bay. I don't understand his fascination with Ana. Don't get me wrong, she's beautiful and kind, but why is he so drawn to her? When I feel her tongue at my lips, I forget about all reasons and open to her. She lets out the softest moan when her tongue finds mine. My fingers move to her wet hair as I gently urge her to head to the side so I can deepen the kiss. I groan when she gives me exactly what I want.

Her grip on my shirt tightens as she arches closer to me and I want nothing more than to strip the towel away from her. When I rushed into the bathroom a few minutes ago after hearing her cry out in pain, it didn't even dawn on me that she might not be covered. My only concern was reaching her as quickly as possible and making sure she wasn't hurt again. But when I saw her, naked in the water, the entire reason I rushed in here left my mind as I took in her beautiful body. Her small but perk breasts were sticking out just above the water, almost enticing me. It wasn't until she moved that I realized I was staring; I quickly turned around before remembering why I rushed in here in the first place.

And now it's taking everything in me to stop my wolf from pulling the towel open and feeling her body now that he knows what lies beneath it. Ana slowly reaches up to my face, cupping it for a moment before sliding it further back. I groan when her fingers tangle in my hair, the need to have her touch on me stronger than it's ever been. I've never wanted, no needed, someone to touch me the way I need her right now.

My hand slowly slides down her, until I reach the soft bare skin of her legs. Her breath hitches at my touch, but I know it's not out of fear or concern. My dick hardens underneath her which I'm sure she can feel. Just knowing that the only thing separating us right now is the small wet towel that is barely wrapped around her is an incredible fucking turn on. But when my fingers glide over a deep scratch on her leg, it's nearly the equivalent of having a bucket of ice thrown on my crotch. As much as I fucking want to take her into my bed, pull the towel from her and kiss every inch of her stunning body, I can't forget that she's seriously injured.

"Ana," I whisper against her lips as I slowly pull back.

Fuck when her eyes open I nearly lose it all over again. She looks up at me, her eyes filled with desire and want and it fucking kills me. If she wasn't hurt right now I don't think I'd be able to stop my wolf from taking her into the bedroom. The again, if she wasn't hurt she wouldn't be here sitting on my lap right now either.

"Sorry," she blushes as she quickly apologizes.

"You have nothing to be sorry about," I can't help but lean down and quickly kiss her one more time. "Let's get you to the bed so you can get dressed."

She nods but doesn't say anything more. Keeping her close to my chest, I step out of the tub but instead of placing her on the step like I said I would, I grab the towel and carry her into the bedroom. I laid out several towels on my bed when she was in the tub, but I could care less if she gets it wet. Part of me doesn't want to put her down, but at the same time I know that if I don't that things will likely pick up right where they left off in the bathroom which is not what Ana needs right now. So reluctantly I place her on the towels on my bed, handing her the dry towel to dry off with.

"Thank you."

"Anytime, just yell when you're done changing. I'll be right outside the door."

Before I close the bedroom door, I make the mistake of turning back to check on her. Seeing her in my bed, nearly naked, does things to my wolf that I can't explain. She's certainly not the first woman that he's seen in my bed, yet he's never reacted like this to any of them. When I close the door, he's pushing to the surface, threatening to come out. Reasoning with him is impossible when he's like this. What the fuck does he expect is going to happen if I were to shift right now? He would scare the shit out of Ana. She's barely wrapping her head around the fact that I can shift; I don't thinks she's ready to see me as a wolf again.

"Christian?"

Her soft voice forces me to take control and push my wolf back down yet again. When I open the bedroom door, I find Ana sitting on the edge of my bed thankfully dressed this time. Though it doesn't stop the image of her sleeping in my bed next to me from appearing.

She belongs there, she belongs in our bed.

"Fuck."

"Is something wrong?" Great and now I've worried Ana.

"No, sorry," I mumble.

"What is it then?"

"Inner argument," I explain as simply as I can.

"With…"

"Yeah, he and I don't always agree."

"You can talk to him?"

"Yes, but he doesn't always listen."

"That's… I just can't imagine."

"I know it probably seems bizarre to you-"

"I don't know if bizarre is the right word. It's different… I can't imagine talking to someone in my head, though I suppose it's like when I talk to myself."

"I suppose it's probably like that," not that I know what that's like because if I talk to myself I'm talking to my wolf as well. "But I doubt you have someone arguing back at you when they disagree with what you're thinking."

"Very true," she giggles and I swear her smile lights up the entire room. "But maybe that's not a bad thing. Maybe he talks you out of making stupid decisions."

Her smile fades with her words, the light in her eyes quickly disappearing and I'm left with the Ana that I've seen the most since I met her in the woods. The one that is guarded, on edge and anything but carefree.

"How would you like to go out this evening?" the words come out of my mouth before I have a chance to question.

"What? I can't… he has people looking for me. They'll see me and tell him where I am-"

"Calm down, I just meant out but still on the pack's land," I assure her. "Taylor and Gail are having a few people over for a campfire and grill tonight. You could come with me, if you want I mean."

I wasn't going to go tonight and I certainly wasn't going to invite Ana, but after seeing her smile and laugh, I'd do anything to see her like that again. Sitting around here all day can't be good for her. Even though she's supposed to be resting so she gets better, I'm guessing it's giving her time to think about what happened.

"I… I don't know. You're sure it would be safe? They won't mind me tagging along?"

"They won't mind and you'll be just as safe there as you are here. Taylor only lives a short distance from here, our yards actually connect just beyond the woods in the back. I'd drive us over of course since you chair can't exactly go through the woods."

"And everyone that will be there… they're all… I mean they…"

"Everyone there will be part of the pack."

"Oh."

I know this conversation has to be weird for her, but what she doesn't know is it's just as odd for me. I've never brought someone into the pack that wasn't a shifter. Hell, I can't remember anyone ever bringing a human into the pack for any length of time. Every so often someone will get lost and somehow wonder down our long private road, but the security team always stops them and redirects them. I've never had to explain us to someone.

"Okay."

"You'll come?"

"If you're sure they won't mind."

"They won't, Gail always makes more than enough food. I swear she thinks the entire pack will show up."

"What if they ask questions? What do we tell them?"

"Obviously Taylor already knows about you, so I'm sure Gail knows as well. Elliot might be there with his wife Kate. I don't know if my dad told him about you, so they would be the only ones who wouldn't know. But, even if others are there you need to know that our pack… we protect everyone who's in it."

"But I'm not –"

"You are. You're staying here, so you're part of the pack."

"But I'm not… one of you."

"You're not, but you're here. You can trust everyone in the pack; they will protect you because you're here."

"Just like that?"

"Yeah, just like that."

She shakes her head as if she doesn't believe me.

"What?"

"Trust like that… it's so hard to believe. How do they trust me? I mean I wouldn't but how do they know I won't… "

"Because if my father had any doubts about you, you wouldn't be here. The pack trusts our leader to protect us and to know what who would and wouldn't be a threat to us."

"But your dad doesn't know me. I mean, he saw me for only those few minutes."

"He knows, he can tell."

"Trust like that doesn't exist in my world," she shakes her head.

"Don't get me wrong, trust like that doesn't extend beyond our pack. We're all very leery of humans; we keep to ourselves, to protect ourselves and the pack. We may work in your world, but that doesn't mean trust your world."

"But you trust me."

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I don't know. Maybe for the same reason that you're finding yourself trusting me."

I know it doesn't make any sense, but somehow I know that I can trust Ana. I know that when she leaves here she won't tell anyone what she saw when she stayed with us. I've never felt that I could trust any human the way I trust Ana. Even our staff at the law office where my dad, Elliot and I work, that have been with us for years, have no idea about what we are. But the moment I saw Ana, the moment I felt her against me, I knew that she was different.

I don't know how much Ana trusts me, but I feel like part of her must have known that she could trust me or else she would have insisted on leaving. She may not have trusted me when I was a wolf, not that I could blame her since she's not a shifter. But I hope, now at least when I'm a human she knows that she can trust me. She wouldn't be staying here if she couldn't right?

"So you'll come?"

"Yeah, it might be nice to… "

"Did you leave a lot of friends… when you left?"

"No," she laughs sadly. "He slowly cut off all contact from my friends. Within three months of our marriage I had stopped talking to all of them."

"He wouldn't let you talk to your friends?"

"No, well he never really said don't talk to them but he made it impossible. He would screen my calls, my text messages and my emails. He told me it was for my own good, that he was just trying to keep me safe. He said that because of his work I was at risk, so he had his team making sure I was safe. He gave me a new phone, but only his people could have the number."

"What an ass."

"He had this way of making you believe that he was doing it because he loved you."

"What does he do for a living?"

"He works… in the casino industry."

"How did you meet him?"

"You know that saying what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas?"

"Yeah, usually it's because people can drunk and do stupid things."

"Well that pretty much sums it up," she shakes her head. "I went to Vegas with a friend for her bachelorette party. She met some guy who was loaded and offered to fly us all out to Vegas on his private jet."

"Nice."

"Yeah it was. I hadn't been to Vegas before so I jumped at the invitation. We went for a long weekend and had a blast. On the last night we went to see a show, her fiancé had gotten us amazing seats for it with backstage passes and everything. Backstage we were treated to complimentary drinks and snacks before we met the cast. From there we kind of club hopped and somewhere along the way we met Tony and a few of his friends. He was the perfect gentleman, bringing us drinks and food, making sure anyone that we didn't want around stayed away, that type of thing."

"So you stayed in touch after you left that weekend? He convinced you to move to Vegas to be with him?"

"I wish," she huffs sarcastically. "Much of that night is still a blur, thanks to the amount of alcohol I consumed. We had been drinking all weekend, but that night we all hit it hard because it was our last night in Vegas."

"What did he do?" I growl at the idea of where she's going.

"I don't know that he necessarily did anything, like I said much of the night is still a blur. But I do know I woke up in his bed the next morning… with a wedding ring on my finger."

"He married you?"

"I-"

"Fuck I didn't mean it like that," I quickly interrupt. "I meant that he married you when you were drunk, so drunk that you couldn't remember what happened the next morning. Though I guess if he was that drunk too-"

"He wasn't," she shakes her head. "I mean, he had a few drinks through the night but he wasn't drunk. I remember joking with him that he was barley drinking; he made an excuse saying it was because he wanted to make sure we all got back to our hotel safely."

"He took advantage of you!" I growl.

"He did."

"Why not get the marriage annulled the next morning? If one party was drunk, they can't consent to marriage. You could have gotten an annulment."

"He refused," she sighs and starts ringing her hands. I sit on the bed next to her even though my wolf is getting more and more antsy hearing how this bastard treated her.

"Why?"

"He said he was a devout catholic," she laughs. "Which given what I learned later about him, makes it very hard to believe. But he said that he didn't believe in annulments and thought that we were brought together for a reason. He convinced me to give the marriage a chance rather than give up on it without trying."

"You stayed in Vegas."

"I did. Rather than flying home with my girlfriends, I stayed in Vegas. They were all thrilled for me, and to be honest part of me was as well. I always wanted a family, for as long as I could remember, that's what I wanted. My therapists would always say that I wanted what I never had growing up," she shrugs.

I can't imagine growing up without a family like she did, it's just not heard of among shifters. If something happens to a child's parents, the rest of the pack steps in. Taylor's father died when he was a toddler and his mother was killed when he was teenager. My parents took him in and raised him right along with their own children. It was never an option for him to be raised outside of the pack.

"He arranged for someone to pack up my things and have them shipped to his house. I didn't have much," she continues.

"How long were you married to him? Before you left I mean… "

"Almost six months."

"Thank God you left when you did."

"I should have left sooner, I shouldn't have let it get to this point."

"You left when you could."

"I guess."

"It's all behind you."

"For now."

"He's not going to find you Ana."

"Not while I'm here, but at some point Christian I'm going to be better and I won't have to stay here any longer. I can't see him giving up after only a couple of weeks of not being able to find me, I just need to hope he doesn't think that I would head this far east."

"He's not going to find you," I growl. "I won't let him."

"You won't be there Christian. I'll figure something out, maybe change my appearance before I leave or something. He can't look for me all over the country, but if I disguise myself-"

"You don't need to leave, you can stay here."

"I can't stay here Christian."

"Why not?"


	7. Chapter 7

**Chpt. 7 APOV:**

"Christian," I sigh. "I don't belong here… I'm not one of you."

"So?"

"How many humans live here?"

"None."

"Exactly. You all live together, in your pack. You just said that the pack keeps to themselves, that you all are leery about humans, you don't trust them —"

"I trust you," he growls which coming out of anyone else would probably frighten me but from Christian it doesn't. It makes no sense though, considering he's a wolf after all.

"You might but I doubt the rest of your pack will. They won't accept me and I don't blame them for that; they have every right to be leery of me."

"It's been done before."

"What has?"

"A human living with a pack," he explains quickly. "Not here, but in other packs. A human and a shifter… they were together and the human joined the shifter on the pack's land."

"Really? I just assumed… I mean…"

"It's not common, but it happens especially when there are so few shifters in the world. Every so often one mates with a human… "

"Mates with a human? That sounds so… "

"Yeah I know," he chuckles. "It's a term we use because shifters mate for life."

"There's no divorce?"

"No," I cringe knowing that's exactly what led me to where I am right now.

If Tony had agreed to an annulment right away it wouldn't have gotten to this point. I know there's no way he'll grant me a divorce, even now that I've left him. I'm better off changing my name, my appearance and just trying to hide from him. Maybe at some point he'll grow tired of looking for me and just give up. Though I don't see that happening.

"It's not like you're thinking," when I glance up I find him looking at me somehow knowing exactly where my mind went. "Divorce doesn't exist because our marriages aren't unhappy ones. Not to say that arguments don't happen, but we're committed to spouses so we work those issues out. Marriage is until death parts us, a vow taken very seriously."

I shake my head at what he's suggesting. To him this sounds perfectly normal but to me it sounds like a nightmare. Not having an option to leave is how I landed here in the first place.

"Look I'm just saying you don't have to leave, I mean, if you don't want to," he says. "I won't force you to stay here, not like your ex did. But if you want to, you can."

"I don't know what to say."

"You don't need to decide right now, maybe take some time and think about it. It's going to be a little while before you can get around safely on your own anyway. Your ex… he's not going to be looking for you here."

"You're right," I giggle. "This is probably the last place he would look for me."

"Come with me tonight, it'll help take your mind off of everything," he suggests. "Plus you'll get to meet some of the pack."

"You're sure they won't mind?"

"They won't. Gail always makes a ton of food because it's not abnormal for someone to drop by while we're hanging out. And if they don't, she has enough to send home with me so I don't have to cook for a few days. Between you and me I think that's the real reasons she cooks so much."

"You don't cook much?"

"Not often, sometimes it just seems pointless to make a huge meal for myself. Ever try cooking for one? You end up with a ton of leftovers."

"True."

"So you'll come?"

"I'll come, I don't have anything else to wear but this. Do you think—"

"It's fine. Maybe tomorrow we'll go into town and pick you up some other clothes. I have to swing by my office to pick up some files to work on this week so we can do both in the same day."

"You're sure it's safe for me to go out there?"

"I'm sure," he voice is full of confidence. "If anyone says anything, we'll say you were in a car accident but I doubt anyone will. You're far from Vegas Ana, even you said this would be the last place he would look for you. But just in case, you can wear one of my hats with your hair under it."

"If you think it'll be safe," I find myself hesitantly agreeing.

I want to believe him and part of me does, but the other part still worries that someone in the town will be watching for me and will report back to Tony. The chances of him having someone this far from Vegas is slim, but I learned a long time ago never to underestimate Tony especially when it comes to his job. For now though, I'm going to go to the cook out with Christian and try not to worry about tomorrow. Maybe he's right, maybe getting away will help take my mind off of everything even if it's just for a little while.

The rest of the day passes by pretty quickly, I think in part because of my nervousness over tonight. Surprisingly I'm not nervous about leaving Christian's house and the possibility of Tony finding me because even I know he can't get to me while we're on the pack's land. Instead, I'm nervous about meeting Christian's… friends? Pack mates? I have no idea what to call them. I don't know what to expect from them or what they will expect from me.

Will they be leery of me like Christian says they are of all humans? Of course I can't blame them especially given how I arrived here. What if they don't like me? What if they think I'm only here to expose them? What if they think…

"You're worrying too much," Christian says as we pull out of the driveway.

"I know," I admit.

"He won't find you at Taylor's."

"I know."

"If you want to go back home at any time just let me know. No one will think anything if you need to leave because this is too much on you. In fact I probably should have checked with my mom before bringing you out here. She said you needed rest, but maybe this will be too much —"

"I'll be fine," I quickly interrupt. "Other than getting in and out of the car, I'll be sitting down which is just what I'd be doing at your house anyway."

"Yeah, but what if—"

"Now you're the one worrying too much," we both laugh at that.

"You ready?" he puts the car into park and I nod.

The cabin in front of us looks very similar to Christian's, with only a few small differences. I love the front porch that they both have, it's something I always wanted on a house when I was growing up. I never considered myself a country girl, but after living in Vegas for those few months, I know I'm not a city girl. A house with a front porch to sit on and watch a sunset is far more appealing than a condo in a large building surrounded by strangers where your view is other buildings.

"Taylor will be around in a minute, he's going to grab your chair while I carry you to the backyard," Christian explains.

"I'm sure it could get around the rocks," I glance down at the driveway.

"It probably could, but I'm worried it might jar you too much. It definitely wouldn't be a smooth trip."

"Are you sure you don't mind?" Not that I'd admit it aloud, but part of me doesn't mind when Christian carries me. There's something about being in his arms that just makes me feel so safe and cared for. It's odd because I never felt like that with anyone else, not even with Tony.

"I don't mind," he growls.

My face blushes in response to the heat in his eyes and if it wasn't for the movement that I caught out of the corner of my eye I think we might have kissed again. I shouldn't be thinking about kissing Christian or how good it feels to be in his arms, especially since technically I'm still married and only left Tony a few days ago. Yet, I can't stop thinking of Christian.

"That's Taylor," Christian must have caught the movement at the same time I did.

"He was there… that night?"

"Yes."

Christian hops out of the SUV and crosses the front of it to meet Taylor. I'm guessing they must have talked about this plan ahead of time and worked out the details of how I would get to the backyard. I hadn't considered it until we pulled up and Christian said something.

"Ana this is Taylor," Christian introduces us after opening the door.

The man in front of me looks nothing like the wolf, I only have a vague memory of, from the van ride that night. Though, Christian doesn't look like his wolf either except for his grey eyes which are definitely the exact same as his wolf's. Taylor's dark hair is much shorter than Christian's and his eyes aren't the same grey as Christian's which answers the question if all shifters had that unique color in their eyes.

"Thank you for helping... me that night," I say.

"No thanks needed," he firmly replies. "I'm just glad we were nearby when… it happened."

"Me too," a shiver goes through me at the possibility of what could have happened if they weren't so close.

"Ready?" Christian asks and I nod in response.

"I'll grab the chair from the back and will meet you guys," Taylor says.

Christian slips his arms under me and once again easily lifts me from the car until I'm resting against his chest. I think I hear his breath hitch when he tugs me closer to him, but I could be imagining it all.

"You'll be fine," he says quietly and starts walking down the driveway. "If you want to leave at any time just say the word."

"I will."

In only takes a few minutes to reach the backyard where all talking seems to stop the moment we round the house. I look over to find several pairs of eyes on me, or maybe on us, but Christian pays them no mind. I don't think I will ever get used to just how normal everyone looks; I keep expecting them to look different or something but they don't.

"I set up a chair over here Christian," a young blond woman gestures towards a large wicker chair with a small stool in front of it.

"Will this work or do you want to sit in your chair?" he asks.

"No this is fine, thank you."

"I'll put the chair over here," Taylor gestures towards the back of the house.

"Do you need anything?" Christian asks.

"I'm good, you can sit down," I giggle.

Christian pulls a chair closer to me, so there's no space between our seats. My leg is propped on the small cushioned stool in front of the chair keeping it elevated like Grace suggested. Christian introduces me to his brother Elliot (who is a younger version of Christian) and his wife Kate. I'm relieved it's just the six of us here, sort of a little less pressure than if there were a couple dozen people with us.

"I'm going to grab the food from the grill, give me a hand Christian?" Taylor requests a few minutes later.

"I should stay—"

"Go," I interrupt. "I'll be fine."

"You sure?"

"I'm fine, go help Taylor," I urge.

When I look up, I find Gail and Kate staring at us in… I don't know, surprise maybe. Christian squeezes my hand before getting up and following Taylor and Elliot inside.

"Wow," Kate says.

"What?" I ask.

"Taylor was right," Gail smiles.

"About what?"

"He said Christian was different with you, very protective."

"I've never seen him act like that with anyone," Kate agrees.

"It's just because of all this," I gesture towards my injuries.

"I don't think it is," Gail smiles.

"Me either," Kate agrees.

"He was with what's her name for a few months and wasn't like this with her," Gail says to Kate.

"Not even close," Kate shakes her head.

"I'm telling you guys, he just doesn't want me to get hurt worse than I already am."

"I don't think so, he looks at you differently," Gail points out.

Maybe those few times I've caught that look in his eye actually does mean something and it's not my imagination? I glance towards the sliding glass doors, almost expecting to see him there but of course I don't.

"I don't think he's the only one," Kate whispers loudly.

"Things are… complicated," I shrug.

"The best things always are," Gail smiles.

"So tell us about you Ana," Kate requests and immediately a knot forms in my stomach.

I was so worried about meeting everyone that I didn't think beyond that. I didn't come up with a story about my past or even who I was before Christian and Taylor found me that night in the woods. It's hard to believe that was only a couple of days ago. Somehow being here makes it so easy to forget about the part of my life, well except for the bruises and broken bones.

"What… what do you want to know?" I ask cautiously.

"Taylor's been real quiet and hasn't said much," Gail explains. "All he said was that him and Christian ran into you and they brought you here."

"Pretty much," I laugh at the simple explanation.

"Are you from around here? Did you go to school nearby? Did you —"

"Ladies," Taylor hisses from only a few feet away. "Stop playing twenty questions with Ana here, let her enjoy her visit or she'll never come back."

"We weren't–"

"It wasn't like that —"

"You'll have to excuse them Ana," Taylor says. "They can be chatterboxes normally, but after they've had a couple glasses of wine they can be nosy."

"Taylor!" Gail growls.

"You know I'm right sweetheart," he leans down and kisses her, the anger immediately disappearing.

"I brought you a bottle of water," Christian appears next to me. "I wasn't sure if you'd prefer soda or something else. I figure it's not a good idea to mix the alcohol with your pain medicine."

"Water is fine, thank you."

"I'll be over at the grill with Taylor," he leans closer to me. "You don't have to tell them anything you don't want to. Taylor hasn't told them what happened to you and Elliot doesn't know either."

"Thanks," I glance up and once again find all eyes on us.

"I'm sorry Ana, Taylor's right we can be a little nosy," Gail apologizes.

"It's fine," I reassure her.

"Have you been into town yet?" Kate asks.

"Not yet, but Christian said we'll probably go tomorrow."

"There's not much there, but it's a cute little town. "

"You should stop by and see me tomorrow if you're nearby!" Gail exclaims.

"You work in town?" I ask.

"I have a small natural store on main street," she points out a very large fenced in area in the yard. "I grow my own herbs and then make natural supplements."

"Wow, your garden is huge!"

"It's mostly herbs, but there's a few vegetable plants in there that I use for cooking."

"What do you make with the herbs?"

"I specialize in natural remedies, by combining certain herbs sometimes antibiotics aren't needed for common illnesses. Everything from colds to sore throats to bug bites, I have a rub or spray that will help."

"Really?"

"Obviously it's not going to cure something more serious but by not constantly relying on antibiotics for smaller illnesses, we're preparing our bodies to accept antibiotics when we do need them. There's been a lot of research on how we're becoming antibiotic resistant because we rely on them too much."

"Now you've started her," Kate sighs.

"You complain all you want missy, but I didn't hear you whining when you lost your voice last week and Dr. Grey refused to prescribe you something because it wasn't an infection," Gail snaps.

"True," Kate laughs. "That stuff you gave me to mix with water tasted horrible, but I'm telling you Ana within 48 hours I had my voice mostly back."

"That's amazing."

"Taylor didn't want me mentioning it and if you can say no, don't worry about hurting my feelings… "

"Mentioning what?" Christian said Taylor didn't tell Gail about that night so I have no idea what she's referring to.

"There's an herbal rub I can give you that… it might help with the swelling and bruising, if you want. You don't have to of course and I know that you don't know me so I get it if you don't want to. I just wanted to put it out there, that I've helped people with… similar issues before," Gail rushes.

"You have something that would help with bruising?" I ask.

The bruises are what bothers me more than my ankle and wrist, at least those are protected, but when something rubs against the bruises it's a constant reminder of what happened. I figured I just had to let it run its course.

"Several herbs can act as an anti-inflammatory, one my best sellers in the store is a rub that immediately helps reduce the appearance of bruising. You wouldn't believe the number of parents who buy it for their kids, especially around school photo time."

"I'd love to try some, I'll see if we can stop by tomorrow. Maybe I should check with Grace to see if it'll interfere with the pain medicine she gave me."

"It shouldn't," Gail assures me. "I mean of course you can check with her, but she's referred several of her patients to me from the hospital after car accidents or falls that leave bruising like yours."

I'm not surprised that Grace didn't mention it to me when I was at her office. She probably sensed that I had a hard enough time trusting her and Christian let alone someone who makes their own herbal medicines. I don't know how I would have reacted if she had suggested it then. Maybe I would have been open to it, but I don't think I would have. Now though, I find it hard not to trust Gail – she seems so genuine.

"Thank you, I'll definitely ask Christian if we'll be near your store tomorrow."

"I have a small jar inside that I'll give you before you leave tonight. I don't keep the larger ones here, but you can try it tonight and if you like it than stop by tomorrow. Or if you don't have time, just have Christian let Taylor know and I'll bring some by after work."

"Thank you, I appreciate it."

"No problem."

"Hello? Anyone home?" a voice calls from the driveway a few minutes later.

"Ugh," Kate sighs. "I swear she only stopped because Christian's SUV was in the driveway."

"I know," Gail shakes her head. "She just can't get it through her head…"

"Get what through her head?" I ask.

"She was convinced that her and Christian were…" Gail glances at Kate who shakes her head ever so slightly. "That they were going to be together."

"Oh… she's his ex."

"I don't know if I'd even call it that," Kate chuckles. "They were… seeing each other for a few months, but it was never serious. At least to Christian it wasn't, everyone could tell that."

"Everyone except her."

"When did they break up?" I ask.

"I don't know that they broke up, like I said they weren't really together. Not seriously anyway," Kate explains. "But they stopped seeing each other, I don't know maybe three or four months ago."

"And ever since she stops by each time we're out here and Christian is here with us. If he's not here, she won't stop by, but if he is she has to stop," Gail rolls her eyes.

"Leila," Taylor nods in the young woman's direction as she walks around the house.

Without saying a word, Christian takes the seat next to me. I don't know what it is, but somehow I know that he doesn't want her here. Of course he doesn't come out and say it, but I can just tell. I slip my hand in his and he immediately takes it and smiles at me.

"Gail was just telling me about her store," I say but out of the corner of my eye I keep an eye on the newest guest as she talks with Taylor and Elliot. Gail and Kate both seem to be doing the same thing. "Do you think we'll be near it to stop by tomorrow when we're in town?"

"The town is not very big," he chuckles. "A couple of stop lights and a few stores is all that makes up town. Gail's store is in between my office and the place I was going to stop to pick you up a few things, so we could easily stop there."


	8. Chapter 8

Author's Note: Have you found me on facebook yet? There's so much exciting news that I want to share with you, especially about why I've been MIA for a little while. My facebook name is Madison Quinn and my profile pic says On Her Terms. If you don't have facebook, please PM me and I'll send you another way to keep up to date with my exciting news!

Chpt. 8 CPOV:

"What the fuck is she doing here?"

Leila

"You should have known better than to hook up with her." Elliot shakes his head.

"Hey, we've all made mistakes." I point out because him and I both know that he's made far more than I did.

Leila and I hooked up after we both had a few too many drinks one night. From there it turned into an occasional hook up whenever we were both single. It seemed like the perfect situation at the time, because we both agreed that we weren't looking for anything serious. I don't know when, but apparently at some point in those couple of months since convinced herself that I was her mate and that we had a future together.

Even if I did believe in the notion of a mate, there's no way in hell I would believe that she was mine. First off, my wolf wanted nothing to do with her. He barely acknowledged her existence when she was around. He couldn't be more different than how he is with…

Fuck

"You okay? You just went a little pale… if you want me to get rid of her—"

"No, its fine. I'm gonna go sit with Ana and the girls, I don't need Leila bugging her about. Just yell if you need help with the grill."

"Will do."

"Oh, listen I need you to have the security guys look into someone for me."

"Did Ana finally tell you Tony's last name?"

"No, but she told me hers. I'm thinking if they were married, the team should be easily able to find out exactly who this Tony fucker is."

"I'll have them look into her tonight, from there we can track the fucker and make sure he stays as far away from her as possible."

"She's concerned about his friends—"

"Wait… her husband did that to her?" I had forgotten Elliot was standing there until that moment.

"Between the three of us, yes," I reluctantly confirm, kicking myself for not pulling Taylor aside privately.

"Does she have a restraining order against him? We can have one of the assistants file one and then I can get started with a divorce. With a restraining order on file, a judge won't take likely any fight he puts up."

"She doesn't want him to know where she is," I sigh. "I don't know enough yet, but the bastard cut her off from everyone so she only had him. He did that to her when she tried to leave him. If we even attempt to file a restraining order, he'll know where she is."

"We can protect her, hide her here—"

"It's too much of a risk," I shake my head. "With everything she's said, I don't doubt he'd stop at nothing to find her."

"Until we have more information about who Tony is, I think Christian might be right," Taylor agrees. "For now, she needs to lay low and heal. Let my team do some research and then we can talk with Ana about how she wants to proceed."

"Short of changing her identity, she'll need to think about a divorce," Elliot points out what I already knew.

"One step at a time," Taylor says. "Let's find out who we're dealing with. Text me any info you have and I'll send it off tonight."

"Thanks."

Just as Leila turns the corner into the backyard, I quickly head over to where Ana has been talking with Gail and Kate. It may not have been my intention to bring her tonight, but considering my wolf has had to have her in his sight at all times I don't think he would have stayed long if she wasn't here.

I knew the women would welcome her right away and without asking any questions even though I have no doubt that they have tons. Leila on the other hand, I don't trust… at all. I guarantee by morning the entire pack will know that a human has been staying with me on our land. Some of the pack might be leery at first, but it won't take long for them to realize that if the alpha has approved her staying here that they have no reason to be concerned. It won't stop Leila from gossiping though.

I take the seat next to Ana, immediately she takes my hand in hers. I gently squeeze it and smile at her, any concerns of Leila immediately instantly disappearing. My wolf growls in appreciation of her touching us, especially since this time she's the one initiating it.

"Gail was just telling me about her store," she says. "Do you think we'll be near it to stop by tomorrow when we're in town?"

"The town is not very big," I chuckle. "A couple of stop lights and a few stores is all that makes up town. Gail's store is in between my office and the place I was going to stop to pick you up a few things, so we could easily stop there."

"Oh good," she glances behind me, likely keeping an eye on the uninvited guest.

"I'm sorry, Christian," Gail says quietly. "I didn't invite her—"

"I know you didn't, don't worry about it."

"She's heading over this way," Ana leans in and whispers to me. The scent of my shampoo and soap on her is driving my wolf crazy, especially when he thinks about how amazing it felt to have her on my lap, to have her lips against mine and to touch her…

"You want to leave at any time, just say the word," I remind her.

"I know."

"Hi everyone," Leila pulls up a chair, of course not far from me.

"Leila, this is Ana. Ana this is Leila," I introduce without taking my eyes off of Ana.

"Nice to meet you, Leila."

"Wow… what on earth happened to you?"

Seriously? The girl has no fucking concept of common decency.

"I was in a car accident," Ana, thankfully, quickly remembers the lie we had discussed earlier. "Christian was kind enough to let me recover at his house."

"Oh? So you've known each other awhile then?"

"Yes," I say firmly, offering no further explanation.

"Leila, how's work been going?" Kate steers the conversation away from Ana, making me appreciate her even more than I already do. She was a Godsend when it came to my brother, who I swore would never settle down. He was constantly out drinking, hooking up with random women and at one point was even at risk of getting suspended from the law firm because he kept missing court dates. Once he met Kate though, everything changed. He practically became a different person.

"You need anything?" I ask quietly.

"Another water would be great, and a restroom?"

"Let me grab your chair."

I bring the wheelchair over to where Ana is sitting and help her transfer to it, even though my wolf is growling at me for not just picking her and carrying her inside like he apparently thinks I should do. The ride is a little bumpy, but once we're inside the cabin it's a smooth ride until we reach the bathroom door.

"It's fine," Ana says realizing at the same time I do that the wheelchair won't fit through the doorway and even if it does, there isn't enough room in it if we want to close the door. There's no way in hell I'm going to sit here and leave the door open.

I quickly lift her from the chair, much to my wolf's satisfaction, and carry her into the bathroom. When I gently move her to a standing position, my arm goes around her waist to hold her steady. Or at least that's what I tell myself is the reason for it. Her hands come to my arms, the uninjured one gripping me tightly as she lifts her head until our eyes meet.

"Christian," she whispers breathlessly.

Refusing to take no for an answer, my wolf pushes me forward until my lips find hers. Fuck, it's only been a few hours since I kissed her, but it feels like ages. He growls when her tongue ever so cautiously traces the seam of my lips. Immediately I open, letting her take whatever it is that she wants. Her fingers weave through my hair, tugging me closer to her just as my hands glide down her sides. Without taking my lips off hers, I kick the door closed and lift her up, gently placing her on the counter.

I step closer to her when her legs part, loving how she feels against me. Unlike earlier, our touches are less cautious, almost as if any hesitation is now gone.

Claim her.

Fuck, the urge to be with a woman has never been this strong. I've never wanted someone as bad as I want Ana right now. I don't even give a shit that we're making out like a couple of teenagers in a bathroom. When my hands gently slide up her side, I cautiously move in just enough so they glide over her beautiful breasts. She arches into my touch and I do what I wanted to the moment I saw her in my bathtub. I tease her hardened nipples, loving how it makes her moan against my lips.

Take her. Claim her. She's ours.

How is it that I want a woman I've known for less than 48 hours this much? How is it she can destroy my senses so quickly? I've never gone after a married woman before, but I feel absolutely no guilt for kissing another man's wife right now. Not after what the bastard did to her—he doesn't deserve her.

A hand grabbing my ass and pulling me closer to her, pulls me from my thoughts. I groan when it places my hard dick right against her jean clad pussy. With one hand on her lower back, I hold her tightly as I gently rock against her leaving her no doubt just what she does to me. We're both breathless by the time our lips separate. It's taking everything in me to control my wolf, to not let him take what he so badly wants. And if I'm being honest, what I want as well.

"Wow," she whispers.

"You drive me crazy, baby," I lean down and kiss her again.

"Yeah."

"If we don't get back out there soon, they might send a search party for us."

"Oh! Shit, I completely forgot where we were," her face turns an adorable shade of red.

"You're not the only one."

As I step back, I don't miss Ana's gaze drop to the very obvious tent in my pants. When our eyes meet, she blushes again realizing she was caught. I gently lift her from the counter, holding her until she's steady on her foot and closer to the toilet.

"I'll wait outside the door, just let me know when you're finished and I'll help you back to the chair," I say before closing the door.

I'm tempted to go to the kitchen and grab Ana the water bottle she wanted, but I don't want to go too far if she were to need me. My wolf on the other hand is pacing, desperate to get out and take control of the situation. He's apparently not happy that things didn't go further in the bathroom.

Fuck... neither am I.

I don't understand the insane attraction I have to Ana. It's so much more than a physical attraction though. I want to protect, I want to keep her safe, I want to know what makes her tick, I want to know everything there is to know about her. What scares me the most is when I told her not to leave earlier, I fucking meant it.

"Christian?"

I slowly open the door just enough to peer inside to make sure she's fully dressed before opening it further. Thankfully she's only drying her hands on the towel, because I don't know what I would have done if she asked me for help getting dressed.

Well, I know what I might have done.

"You ready?" I ask as I set her back into the chair.

"Yup."

We stop by the kitchen to grab a couple of bottles of water before heading back out to the patio. Instantly I stop in my tracks when I see that Leila is sitting in my seat, clearly positioning herself between me and Ana. There's no way in hell I'm letting her get away with that!

Instead, I carry Ana over to where she was sitting but instead of setting her down, I sit down with her on my lap. She laughs but doesn't object. Part of knows it would probably be better for her if I let her sit here and I saw in the chair on the other side of Leila. This way she could put her leg up and rest, but right now I'm feeling selfish. And maybe a little protective—okay a lot protective.

"Dinner has another 15 minutes or so," Taylor announces from over at the grill where him and Elliot are still talking.

Leila, Gail and Kate are talking about some book they all recently read. I don't know if Ana has read the book or is just choosing not to participate in the conversation, but it doesn't matter because right now I'm enjoying her against me. Ana rests against my chest, her fingers toying with the fabric of my shirt, whether intentional or not my wolf is fucking over the moon that she is still touching us.

"So you think we can stop by Gail's store tomorrow?" Ana leans in and whispers to me. Her breath on my ear goes straight to my dick, definitely not something I need right now.

"It won't be a problem," I assure her. "Once you see how small town really is, you'll understand."

"I wanted to make sure it wasn't out of the way or anything."

"Nothing in town is out of the way," my fingers trail up her arm. "I wasn't lying when I said it was a couple stop lights and some shops. Most of our clients come from outside of town, but we're the closest attorneys for by a couple of hours so they don't mind."

"You're an attorney?" she pulls back and smiles.

"Yeah, in my dad's firm with Elliot. I guess I didn't mention that?"

"No," she laughs.

"Why is that funny?"

"It's just kind of ironic," she shakes her head. "I went to school to be a paralegal, that's what I was doing when I… before I moved."

"Really?"

"I had a job at a decent sized law firm before I… left. I wasn't making a ton of money, but I enjoyed what I did. Working on cases, gathering research… just knowing that it was helping a lawyer…"

"Dinner is ready!" Taylor calls.

"Hey," I lift her chin up and hate like hell the sadness I see in her eyes. I have no doubt she's thinking about what she left behind. "You focus on getting better and I'll talk to my dad about hiring you—"

"I couldn't ask you to do that!"

"You're not asking, I'm offering."

"Why?"

"Why?"

"Why are you doing all of this? You don't have to…"

"Yeah I do," I lean in and kiss her because right now I have no other explanation to give her.

I know she doesn't understand and I don't blame her because I don't fucking understand either.


	9. Chapter 9

Chpt. 9 APOV:

"So what did you think of our little town?" Christian asks.

"Little is right," I laugh.

"I told you it wasn't very big."

"I wasn't expecting it to be so small, but it's cute-plus it had everything we needed."

"I know there wasn't much of a selection for clothes for you," he apologizes.

"It's fine, I'm not picky. I just needed a couple things, definitely not everything you bought for me."

He refused to let me pay for anything today; my clothes, the rub from Gail's store, lunch at a small outdoor café, was all paid for by Christian. Because I had planned on paying for my own clothes, I only picked out two pairs of pants and two tops. He wouldn't hear of it though, insisting I get triple the amount and then insisting he pay for it all.

"Well, this way you'll have a few things," he squeezes my hand.

Things have been… different between us since we got back to the cabin last night. Though I suppose they changed while we were still at Taylor's. Christian's been touching me, in small ways, all day. But if I'm being honest, I've been touching him nearly as much. There's something that just draws me to him. As if I need to have him close, to touch him. It took forever last night to fall asleep; I kept thinking about him, the way it felt when he kissed me, when he held me against his chest and the way he looked at me as if no one else was around.

It doesn't make any sense–I shouldn't feel this way about him, especially since technically I'm still married. I never loved Tony, and even though he said those three words to me, I know he never really loved me either. Maybe that's why I don't feel guilty that Christian kissed me, or that I kissed him?

"You okay?" he pulls me from my thoughts. "Has today been too much? Do you need to take a nap?"

"No, I'm fine. Maybe we could sit outside for a little while?"

"I'll get you settled on the porch and then bring us out some water."

He quickly lifts me out of the SUV, carrying me to swing where he gently puts me down. Without seeming to give it a second thought, he quickly kisses me on the lips before heading back to the car to carry in the bags from today. I immediately feel a loss when he's not near me. I've never felt like I've needed someone before, even before Tony. At first I thought that it was just because Christian made me feel safe, but now I think it's beyond that. Although when we first went into town I kept look over my shoulder for him, after a little while I stopped. Not only did I trust Christian to keep me safe, but I didn't feel the need to worry.

Now, I just want Christian near me… just because. There's no rationale reason for it, but it's like something inside of me feels at ease when he's near. And it completely disappears when he touches me. I've never felt so… at ease, so relaxed, before.

"You sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine, just enjoying the peacefulness," I gesture in front of us to the open space with the mountains in the distance. I know it has nothing to do with the scenery, but I don't know how else to explain why I feel the way I do all of a sudden.

"Did you always live in a city? Before you moved to Vegas, I mean?"

"Vegas was the only real city I lived in, but before that… I guess it was considered more of a suburb. I think one or two of the foster homes I lived in were in a city, but mostly they were suburbs. I've never lived in the country before, not like this where people aren't constantly on top of you. Where you can sit and watch the sunset from your front porch."

"When you're better, there are some amazing hiking trails I think you'd enjoy. They have some of the best views in all of Wyoming."

"I'd like that."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"How did you end up in foster care? I mean… what happened to your parents?"

"Oh–"

"You don't have to answer that, I'm sorry. It's none of my–"

"I'm practically living with you, so it is your business," I interrupt quickly. "The truth is I don't know much. From what I was told, my father's name was never listed on my birth certificate and from what the state said, no one knew who he was. My mother was a bank teller and was killed during a robbery when I was three years old. I don't remember much about her."

"Ana, I'm sorry."

"Apparently she had some family, so it took a while for them to all be tracked down. By the time I was eligible for adoption, I was older and most couples looking to adopt wanted someone younger."

"How come her family didn't take you in?"

"I don't know. I've never reached out to them–if they didn't want me then…"

"Their loss, Ana."

"I spoke with a neighbor once, someone who used to watch me when my mom was at work. She said my mom was estranged from her family–they disowned her because of my father was. But, my mother never told her anything more about him, just that her family disowned her because of who he was."

"I… I can't imagine."

"Things aren't like they are here," I say remembering him telling me how his parents took Taylor in when his own parents passed away.

"I know that," he sighs. "I mean, we see enough of it with our clients at work, but hearing it… from you…"

"It wasn't horrible," I assure him. "I know people always picture foster care as this horrible, dark place, but really for the most part it wasn't. Sure I lived with a few people who only did it for the paycheck, but there were others that genuinely seemed to care.

His thumb is gently gliding across my hand, our fingers intertwined–though I can't say for certain when that even happened. We both don't say anything for several long minutes, but once again it's not an uncomfortable silence.

"What was it like growing up… here… I mean as a…"

"Shifter," he provides the word. "I don't know that it's really any different from how most kids grow up. I mean, of course there are some differences. For one, we hide this big secret from everyone outside of our pack. But the importance of keeping that secret is ingrained in us almost from day one, so it doesn't really seem like a big deal to most of us.

"I think the biggest thing was just living here. This is the part that is probably the most different from the other kids we went to school with. I think most of their parents, and probably the community, think this is some type of a religious compound or something. Most kids would probably complain about not being able to have their friends over after school to hang out, but for us our friends were here. It's not a large pack, but we're really close so I think that makes up for things."

"Your parents… they were both born here?" It's fascinating to me how this all works.

"My dad was, he's lived here his entire life. If he were an outside, he never would have been able to become the alpha. Well, maybe he could have but a LOT would have had to happen for that to occur. My mother was born in a different pack."

"So how did they meet?"

"Packs usually make it a point to visit other packs and they will typically bring along any young adults or teenagers. This allows us to meet others who are like us, but ones we didn't necessarily grow up with. Plus, it keeps the kids busy when the adults are catching up with each other or discussing concerns. They met when my mother's pack came here for a visit; she moved here a couple weeks later."

"That quick?"

Who am I to talk? I moved in with Tony—

"They said they just knew they were it for one another; they've been married for over 30 years."

"Wow… that's amazing."

"It's getting late, I have some work I'd like to get done before bed," he says after a few moments of silence. "Did you want to take a bath before you go to bed? It might help your muscles if they're sore from going in and out of the chair so much today."

"That would be nice."

It's less awkward this time, when Christian helps me into the jetted tub. Just before he walks out, I have a sudden urge to ask him to join me, but I quickly dispel the idea and remain quiet. Kissing him yesterday at Taylor's must still be wreaking havoc on my thoughts. I shouldn't be thinking of him like this. I shouldn't want him in here with me, with his arms wrapped around me, holding me close to him.

"Let me know when you're done," he says some time later. I can't tell you how long I've been sitting here, thinking about him, but the water has cooled down. "I have everything ready for you."

"I'm finished," I quickly soap up and then grab the towel to loosely cover myself with.

"I figure we'll do this like last time… well minus banging my ankle on the jet," he chuckles but I can feel my face heating up at the reminder of what happened after… that kiss…

"Anyway," his heated gaze finds mine and I wonder if he was remembering the same thing? "I have towels on the bed with your pajamas that you left out. I thought I could put the rub on that Gail gave you; she had said it would work best if it was applied at night."

"Sounds good."

He carefully lifts me out of the tub, this time making sure not to hit the jet in the process. Like last time, he has several dried towels ready for me on his bed. He waits outside of the bedroom door while I quickly dry off as best as I can and slip on the pajamas. I remove the wet towels from the bed, placing them on the floor since the my wheelchair is folded up in the corner of the room which means I can't get to the hamper on my own.

I can't wait to be a little more independent. I'm not used to having to rely on someone for so much… or have someone that I can rely on.

"Ana?"

"You can come in, I'm—"

The moment the door opens, he freezes and stares at me. I can't figure out what he's thinking, as his eyes give nothing away. He's just sort of looking at me… but it seems more than that.

"Christian?"

"Christian?"

"Christian?"

"Uh… sorry," he mumbles and shakes his head. It's only then that I realize he was probably talking to… his wolf. God, that sounds so weird to say.

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah… let's get the rub on you," he quickly grabs the tub that we picked up at Gail's store and sits next to me on the bed. Suddenly though he looks uncomfortable, like maybe he doesn't want to do this? Maybe he isn't comfortable with the bruises?

"I can do it if you don't want to…"

"No, it's fine," he shakes his head again. "Why don't you lay on your stomach, I'll do your back first."

It's awkward, but with his help, I roll onto my back. He asks my permission before lifting my shirt to the middle of my back. The gasp from him confirms that the bruises are still as bad as they feel. His touch is gentle, cautious even, as he slowly works the rub into my skin. He's careful not to apply too much pressure, like Gail warned him when she explained how the rub would work. The gentle messaging of my muscles is almost enough to put me to sleep, especially when combined with the rough sleep I had last night.

"Is this okay?" he quietly asks.

"Hmmmm," I mumble.

"You going to fall asleep, Ana?"

"Maybe…"

A soft… growl immediately has me looking back at him. His gaze meets mine and there's so much in it, but yet again I can't figure out what it is.

"What?" he asks.

"You… growled."

"No…"

"Uh, yeah you did."

"Sorry."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did he do that?"

"It's nothing," he shakes his head and goes to get up but I quickly grab his hand to stop him.

I awkwardly roll into my side, so I can face him instead of looking back. He sits back on the bed next to me.

"He… he likes you here," Christian whispers.

"Here…?"

"In our bed."

"Oh."

"When you… he was picturing… nevermind."

"Oh!" my face heats up at the idea of that.

"No! I mean… that wasn't what he was thinking," he blushes.

"What was he thinking?"

"Of you sleeping here… with us."

"He liked that?"

"From the first time he saw you in here."

"Do you…?"

"Yeah…" his answer is barely above a whisper but it's there.

"Oh."

"I—"

"We—"

We both laugh as we start talking at the same time. Any awkwardness is instantly gone; I thought it might be odd to talk about his wolf as if he were another person, but it really wasn't.

"What were you going to say?" I ask.

"I was going to suggest we finish putting this on your ribs and the few spots on your legs… then if you wanted to you could… I mean, there's a TV in here if you wanted to…"

"Oh… thanks."

Is he suggesting I stay in here tonight? Or did he only recommend it because it's easier than carrying me back downstairs to the living room? That must be it, he probably doesn't want to bring me back up and down the stairs.

I shake my head slightly, ignoring his questioning look and lay on my back. I could probably do this part myself, but with limited use of my wrist it would be challenging. Christian again asks before lifting my shirt, keeping it low enough to cover my chest but high enough for him reach all the bruises on my side. Having him this close though immediately reminds me of what happened in Taylor's bathroom last night.

Christian's eyes don't leave mine as he slowly massages the rub into the bruises; I don't know if he's watching for my reaction or something more. Somehow, he knows exactly where the bruises are even if he's not looking there. Something changes in his gaze and without asking him I know what it is… it's his wolf. It's odd, but it feels like they're both looking at me, but instead of feeling self-conscious I feel… wanted.

With his gaze never leaving mine, he slowly leans down, I know giving me any chance to stop things before they even start. What he doesn't know is that I have no intention of stopping things, that I want this just as much as he… they do.

I gently tug him down, until he fully climbs onto the bed so he's lying next to me. I go to move over, to offer him more space, but he stops me, instead pulling me closer to him. A moan escapes me when his tongue glides across my lips and I immediately open to him. The kiss isn't slow and cautious like the first one was, instead this one picks up wear last night ends. Judging by the hardness against my shorts, I'm not the only thinking that either.

"Baby," he groans against my lips.

"Christian," I whisper.

"We should stop."

"Oh," I start to pull back but his hold is firm on me not letting me.

"I didn't mean it like that," he lifts my chin so I reluctantly look at him.

"It's fine—"

"I think you'd be able to tell that's not what I meant," with a gentle nudge he presses against me. "You're still hurt, I… it would kill me if I hurt you."

"It's—"

"Don't tell me it's fine," he growls. " .you. Don't think otherwise. It's taking everything in me to wait, but I can't hurt you… I won't hurt you, Ana."

"I know."

His fingers toy with the waistband of my shorts and even though I know stopping is the right thing to do, it doesn't stop me from wanting him. I can't remember ever feeling so overcome with need as I do right now. It's not just the physical attraction… it's something more than that.

"Do you have anywhere else you need me to put this on?" he asks. "Gail said to be sure to get all the bruises, but I don't know where they all are."

"There's one here," I gently move the hand that was at my waist lower, under the shorts to the bruise that goes from my hip to my upper thigh.

"I'll take care of it," he leans in and kisses me again, his eyes still filled with hunger, before sitting back up. He slowly lowers the waist of my shorts, and gasps. Initially I assume it's because of the bruise but when he doesn't move I glance up.

"Christian?"

"Christian?"

"What… what is that?" he gestures to the mark next to the bruise.

"It's just a birth mark, it wasn't caused by—"

"A birthmark? You've had it…"

"Forever," I shrug not understanding what the issue is.

"You're sure?"

"Yeah… why? What's the big deal?"

"I… I… I gotta go," and with that he runs from the room.


	10. Chapter 10

Author's Note: Be warned, it's short, but I needed it to end where it did because the next chapter needs to be from Ana's POV. Thank you for being patient with me with this story as well as my others. If you follow me on facebook you know I've been moving into the self-publishing world. If you're interested in reading some of my work (including something original) you can find me on Amazon (including in kindle unlimited) under Madison Quinn.

Chpt. 10

Christian

"Taylor, I need you," my wolf calls out before the shift is even complete.

"On my way," his answer is immediate like always.

I'm off, running through the woods knowing that Taylor will find me no matter what direction I take. No matter how fast I run, I can't erase the image of that birthmark out of my head. In the last few minutes I've tried convincing myself that what I saw wasn't real, that it was somehow a figment of my imagination…or my wolf's. Because if it wasn't…

"We gonna keep running or are you going to tell me why we're out here?" Taylor asks.

I look back, surprised to find him there only because I hadn't heard him even approaching which is not normal. I slow down and head over to a large rock where I sit down and overlook the valley below us. Taylor sits down next to me but doesn't say anything.

"I know it hasn't been very long but were you able to find anything out about Ana?" I ask, though not sure why.

"I was," he looks at me questioningly. He knows that's not the reason I asked him out here, especially so suddenly. "She isn't married."

"What? Are you sure? Positive?"

"Christian, you know better than to ask me that," he growls. "Of course I'm sure. I searched all marriage records in the state of Nevada after I didn't find a marriage license filed in Las Vegas. Anastasia Steele has never been married."

"Maybe that's not her real name. Maybe-"

"It's her," he interrupts quickly. "When I first didn't find anything, I thought that was possibility as well. I checked with the DMV, her driver's license picture matches her perfectly. It's her Christian and she's not married."

"Shit."

"Why would she say she was married to that fucker if she wasn't?"

"He lied to her," I growl. "He fucking lied to her."

"I don't understand…why does she think they were married if they weren't?"

"She was drunk," I hate that I'm revealing Ana's secret, but I need to. "She doesn't remember much about that night. She said she woke up with a wedding ring on her finger and he convinced her to move to Vegas and try to make their new marriage work."

"That fucker," he growls. "It was about getting power over her."

"Yup."

"I'm still working on tracking him down, but I have some leads."

"Really? Even without a name?" I look out, the empty valley below us calls to me. My wolf wants to go running but my human wants to stay here and get answers from Taylor. It's a constant fucking battle and one that I'm not sure who I want to win more.

"Nothing significant yet, but I'm getting there. Give me another day or two and I'm confident I'll have his identity. In the meantime I've set up alerts if anyone so much as checks into her banking history."

"Nothing odd come up?"

"Not yet, there's no activity on her credit card or banking account. She didn't have a cell phone registered to her name and all her mail went to a PO Box."

"Did you look into her…history?"

"Meaning?"

"Who she is?" I gulp at the question but know I have to ask.

"You know I did, I had to Christian," Taylor confirms. "It's not that I don't trust her, but I need to protect the entire pack. Just in case-"

"It's fine, I knew you would. Tell me what you found."

Over the next few minutes, recounts the same story Ana just told me. She grew up in foster care, her father's name wasn't listed on the birth certificate and her mother was killed during an armed robbery at the bank she worked at. There was nothing unusual noted about Ana's mother's family but he did find out that they all told child protective services that they were not in a position to offer kinship care to Ana when her mother was killed.

"What's with the twenty questions, Christian? Do you not trust her? Do you think she's hiding something? I can dig-"

"No, she's not…I mean I think she's hiding something but I don't think she knows she's hiding something."

"Man, that makes no fucking sense," he chuckles and gets up to start pacing in front of me. "How can she hide something without knowing it."

"I saw something."

"What did you see?" he has the nerve to growl at me.

"A birthmark."

"A birthmark? A…oh fuck. You're sure?"

"Positive," as much as I didn't want to believe that what I saw was what I think I saw, I'm absolutely certain now it's what I think it is.

"But…how?"

"I don't know. Can you come up with another explanation?"

"Fuck…you need to talk to your dad."

"I know…"

"What did she say?"

"She?"

"Ana?"

"I…fuck."

"What?" he stops and turns to look at me.

"I ran out. As soon as I saw it, I ran and left her there."

"Christian," he growls at me for knowing better than that.

"I know!" I hiss. "I fucking freaked out! I was applying that rub shit that Gail gave her and there was a bruise on her hip that we hadn't gotten to yet. When she rolled onto her side, it was fucking there."

"Wow…so she's…one of us."

"I guess? I don't fucking know. I mean, there's got to be another explanation, right? You saw her reaction in the van Taylor, there's no way she's one of us."

"What if…"

"What?"

"What if she doesn't know she's a shifter?"

"How's that fucking possible?" it's my turn to get up and pace, my wolf and my human no longer content with sitting still. "You remember how strong the urge to shift was, how strong it still is even all the years after we learned how to control it."

"I don't know man, but what other explanation is there? If she has the birthmark…"

"I need to talk to my dad."

"You should get with old man Theodore too."

"Yeah…but what do I say to Ana? I can't just walk back into the house and say hi…sorry for running out but I think you're a wolf and don't know it."

"Talk to the old man first. Maybe sketch out a picture of birthmark if you can remember it-"

"Trust me, I remember it."

Every part of the birthmark is burned into my memory. There's no forgetting it; it's not possible. Just as it's not possible to forget the hurt look on Ana's face when I ran from the room and left her lying, alone. I had just gotten my wolf under control when he saw the birthmark. Before that all he wanted to do was to crawl into bed next to her. It took some convincing but he eventually became content to just lay with her, instead of taking her the way he wanted to.

"Come on, let's go," Taylor takes off running knowing I'll follow him.

We run until we make it to the very edge of the pack's land where old man Theodore lives. Taylor nods and grunts before running back in the direction we just came. I hadn't expected him to come in with me, but now what I'm here I have no fucking idea what the hell I'm going to say without sounding crazy.

Old man Theodore is one of the oldest members of our pack and he's also the pack's historian. He knows everything there is to know about shifters, not just in our pack but across all the wolf packs. If anyone can tell me I'm crazy and that what I saw isn't what I think it is, it would be him. The problem is I don't know if I want him to tell me if it's true or if I somehow didn't see it clearly.

"Christian, what brings you here, son?"


	11. Chapter 11

_Author's Note: Were you a fan of Complications? If so and you've missed that story, you not going to want to miss this! Search Garrett by Madison Quinn on Amazon which is based on the fanfic story Complications. It's on a sale for a special incredibly low, pre-order only price through 4/4._

 **Chpt. 12  
Ana**

The sound of the door opening down stairs has me sitting up in bed; I must have fallen asleep because the room is now dark. I listen for Christian's voice, but all I can hear is faint voices that I can't identify. There's more than one voice which worries me. I try not to think the worst, but my first thought is that Tony somehow found me. Even though Christian insists I'm safe here, I've learned the hard way that you can't doubt Tony or just how far his reach is.

When I hear heavy footsteps coming up the steps, I glance around the room, trying to find something to use as a weapon. The nightstand is pretty much empty, just a small alarm clock and a lamp. There might be something on the dresser, but it's too dark to make out anything in detail plus it's halfway across the room.

As the footsteps get closer, I panic, no longer able to convince myself that it's not Tony coming for me once and for all. Pushing through the pain, I launch myself out of the bed and grab the lamp off the nightstand. It's not much, but if he comes after me at least it's something to hit him with. Even if I do hit him, it's not going to do much good because there's no way I'll be able to make it down the stairs to get out of here. My only hope would be that Christian comes home soon though I have no idea where he went.

What if Tony somehow got to him too? What if he tied Christian up somewhere before he came here? The sun was just starting to set when Christian left, but now it's completely dark outside. Who knows what Tony or his men could have accomplished in the short time he was gone. What if they got to Taylor and Gail? Or to Elliot and Christian's parents? I'll never forgive myself if Tony hurt them because of me. I'll never-

The door opens just slightly and I freeze, holding my breath hoping that Tony won't see me in the darkness. Maybe he'll think the room is empty since it's dark. When a commercial appears on the TV, the entire room lights up and I realize I'm screwed. I fucking fell asleep with the TV on; something that drove Tony crazy when we lived together.

"Ana?" a deep male voice calls into the room, but I can barely hear it over the pounding of my heart.

I don't say a word, knowing that the element of surprise is probably the only thing I have working in my favor right now. I should have moved closer to the door so I could hit him as soon as he came in, but I obviously didn't think this plan through since the lamp in my hand is still plugged into the outlet behind the nightstand.

"Ana?"

"Go away!" I yell out. "You're not going to hurt me again, Tony!"

He's not close enough, but he will be soon. I raise the lamp over my head, readying to hit him with as much power as I can muster. My injured wrist screams in protest, my ankle throbs as I put even the smallest amount of weight on it, but ignore it all.

"Ana? It's Christian." The bright light blinds me momentarily; I close my eyes out of instinct and open them the moment I feel a hand on mine, prying the lamp from my clutch.

"Christian?" I sob in relief when I finally realize it wasn't Tony after all.

"You're okay; Tony isn't going to _ever_ find you again." Without another word, he places the lamp on the nightstand, and lifts me in his arms. He takes a couple of steps over to the bed, but instead of putting me on it, he simply sits down with me on his lap. I curl into him, and try to get my breathing under control.

I don't know how long we sit there, but Christian doesn't seem in any hurry to change things. I should have known it was him downstairs, and not Tony. I wonder if there will ever be a day when I don't assume that he found me. Even though I feel safer right now in Christian's arms, I know that it can't last forever. At some point I'm going to need to leave, before my fear becomes a reality and Tony hurts Christian's friends and family.

"You okay?" he says softly.

"Yeah…" My shaky voice can't hide the emotional toll that this just took on me. "Sorry about that-"

"You don't need to apologize, not about him. You're safe here, Ana. I won't let anything happen to you, I promise." He kisses the top of my head as his hand rubs small circles on my lower back.

"I must have fallen asleep and woke up to mumbled voices downstairs-wait, is someone else here?" I remember distinctly hearing two different voices when I woke up.

"Yeah…I was coming up here to ask you if you could come downstairs-"

"Is something wrong? Do I need to leave?"

My mind immediately races, trying to figure out where I could go next. My options are limited thanks to my injuries, but I should have enough cash to pay for a motel room to hide out, at least for a little while. From there, who knows.

"You're not going anywhere," he growls, his chest rumbling against my body as his grip tightens on me.

"I can't stay here forever, Christian-"

"Look," he sighs and leans back just far enough that I need to look up to see his face. "There's something we need to talk about. Can you come with me downstairs?"

"Someone's down there?" I ask even though I already know the answer.

"My dad and our pack's elder." Although he answered the question I asked, he doesn't answer all the others he must know that I have. Why do they want to meet with me? Are they going to tell me that I need to leave? That I'm putting the pack at risk by staying here?

"Okay," I reluctantly agree knowing that I really don't have much of a choice.

Christian lifts my chin up so I'm once again looking at him. He slowly leans it, much more cautiously than he did earlier when we laid in his bed together. His soft lips find mine, the urgency from earlier may be gone, but the passion is still there. As we separate, I open my eyes and immediately find him watching me. For a split second I swear I can see both of them…Christian and his wolf, looking back at me.

"You're safe here," he tries to assure me likely sensing my nervousness. "They're not going to ask you to leave, I promise."

"Okay…I trust you."

I might have only known Christian for a few days, but I trust him more than I've ever trusted anyone before. It doesn't make sense, because I should probably be afraid to trust anyone after what Tony did to me. I was certain he ruined my ability to trust a long time ago, especially with men. But, Christian is different. I don't know why, but he is.

"Let's get you downstairs."

He tenses against, but doesn't say anything more. I use the bathroom before he carries me downstairs, gently placing me on the couch. Carrick and another man probably at least twenty or thirty years older than Christian's dad, sit on the loveseat next to the couch. Without me asking, Christian takes a seat next to me, taking my hand in his.

"Ana…" he begins but then shakes his head.

"Ana, Christian has told us a little bit about your childhood," Carrick surprises me by announcing. I look at Christian, confused as to what my childhood would have to do with anything, but his eyes are down and he doesn't look up at me.

"Okay?" I ask, still confused.

"Let me start," the older man says. "My name is Theodore, I'm Carrick's father, and therefore, Christian's grandfather. I am what's known as the pack elder, or pack historian. Essentially it means I know everything about everyone."

I laugh and for the first time since Christian brought me down here, I feel a little less anxious. I still have no idea what's going on or why Carrick and Theodore needed to see me, but Theodore puts me at ease.

"I'm going to give you a little history about how our packs work before we get into the questions I'm sure you have about why we're here," I nod before he continues. "There are packs just like ours all over the world. Most are set up just like this one, where everyone lives close and with one another. Some are a little more spread out, but the concept is still the same. It's customary for packs to get together, which allows the adults to share information and discuss risks to our survival. Almost as important, it gives our younger generations a chance to meet others.

"It's hard to explain, but when we are born, there is another shifter genetically matched with us somewhere in the world that is designated as their mate. Usually the match is within a few hundred miles of each pack, as I'm sure you can imagine mates may not find each other if they were countries apart."

"Makes sense," I agree but still not understanding what this has to do with me.

"Every shifter is born with a birthmark that identifies them as part of the pack. When two people mate from two different packs, the father's birthmark is left on their offspring as usually the woman joins the male's pack."

Silence falls around the room, but I still can't figure out what any of this has to do with me and why we're sitting here discussing the history of the pack. It's fascinating…but it really doesn't have anything to do with me.

"What my father is trying to say," Carrick breaks the silence. "Is that we believe you have one of those birthmarks."

"Wait…what?" I look at Christian, who finally meets my gaze. He almost looks guilty, which doesn't make any sense. Then again, none of what they're saying makes any sense.

"The birthmark…I saw earlier…" he mumbles.

"I told you, it's been there forever," I shake my head.

"Christian sketched the birthmark for us," Theodore says. "I was able to confirm that it matches a pack in North Dakota."

"I don't understand. You're saying…?"

"We're saying that your father, who I understand from Christian you didn't know, was or is a shifter," Carrick clarifies.

"That's not possible." None of this makes any sense. I have the sudden urge to get up, to move around the room. Sitting on the couch is driving me crazy. I feel like I should be doing something! Christian isn't saying anything, but his hand grips mine even tighter.

"Taylor dug into your past-" Carrick announces.

"WHAT?! He can't do that! I need to leave, before Tony-" I try to stand up, but Christian's wraps his arm around my waist and stops me.

"Taylor is very good at what he does," Christian explains. "There's no way that Tony would have even known that anyone was looking into you, let alone figure out it was Taylor. In fact, Taylor put several safeguards into place ensuring that he's notified the moment someone even as much as looks at your banking activity. You need to trust us; _no one_ will let Tony near you again."

"Christian is right, Ana," Carrick tries to assure me. "Taylor is the best at what he does, that's why he's head of security for the pack."

"Okay…"I take a deep breath and slowly let it out. "So, did he find something out?"

"Not exactly," Christian says.

"We don't know who your father was," Theodore explains. "What we know is that when your mother passed away, her family refused to take you in-"

"She was an only child; her parents had passed away," I say even more confused.

"She was one of four children," Carrick says apolitically. "All of her siblings and both of her parents are still alive, even today."

"I need a drink," I mumble.

"I'll get you one," Christian goes to get up from the couch, but it's my turn to stop him.

"I'm fine. I shouldn't drink with the pain medicine anyway." Though, maybe it would help make everything they're saying a little easier to swallow. I feel like I'm finding out my entire life is a lie. "You said my father was part of a…pack, right? But my mother wasn't?"

"Correct," Theodore says. "I contacted an elder at the pack where we believe your birth mark originates from. I didn't get into any specifics about you, but I asked if he recalled a situation in which a shifter impregnated a human. You have to understand that it's very rare for a human and a shifter to be mated. That doesn't mean that relationships don't occur, but if a shifter has sexual intercourse with someone who is not their mate, a pregnancy should not occur. Every so often though we do hear of a pregnancy occurring, however it's very rare."

"You think that's what happened with my mother and father?" I ask.

"Yes," Theodore confirms. "According to the person I spoke with, there was a young man who was dating a human woman around the time in which you would have been conceived. He believes the mother's family was visiting the area on vacation and the two met a local restaurant where your father was working. She left a couple of weeks after they met, and as far as the elder knew, pregnancy was never mentioned."

"Is he still alive?" I whisper.

"Yes," Theodore confirms. "He met his mate two years later and has several children with her."

"So...my mother's family disowned her because of who he was?"

"We don't believe she knew he was shifter. They had only known each other for a very short period of time, so it's highly unlikely he would have confided in her so quickly. They may have disowned her because she became pregnant outside of marriage. Or perhaps they met your father and didn't like him. I'm not sure."

"So if my father was…is…a shifter. That doesn't mean that I'm a….?"

"You're also a shifter," Carrick confirms.

"But…how…what?"

"The shifting gene would have been dominant and passed down to you. Just like with a human pregnancy, you receive genes from both parents during conception. However, shifters have additional genes because…well, obviously, we have the genes of a human and those of a wolf. Therefore, our genes become dominant when conception occurs. That's the reason the child always receives the birthmark from the father's pack and not the other way around," he explains.

"But…I've never…I'm not a…" I stutter, none of this making any sense.

"Your wolf is in there somewhere, Ana," Carrick leans forward and gently says.

"But wouldn't I know? I mean…I've seen Christian talk with his wolf, they have full conversations. How can I have a wolf and not know it?"

"I'm still looking into that." Theodore sits back on the couch with a confused look on his face. I'm glad I'm not the only one confused as to what's going on right now. "Your situation is truly unique; I've reached out to a couple of packs but no one has ever heard of a shifter being raised by humans and having no contact with their own pack. It's just not done."

"Maybe they're wrong? I mean, isn't it possible the birthmark is just that-a birthmark?" I ask.

"It's not just a birthmark," Christian sighs next to me. "I knew the moment I saw it that it wasn't just a birthmark."

"That's why you ran out," I realize.

"Yeah." He shakes his head and lowers his gaze. "I shouldn't have done that, but I was caught completely off guard."

"You and me both," I mumble.

"You may start noticing some changes the longer you stay here," Carrick breaks the silence that seemed to have fallen over the room. "Some of the elders theorize that your wolf needs to feel safe, protected even, before she makes herself known. In a world surrounded by humans, she might have been too scared to make herself known."

"You think…she'll come out now that I'm here?" We seriously cannot be having this conversation.

"Yes," Theodore says firmly. "It might take a little while, but we believe as she feels safe, she's going to start making her presence known."

"This is crazy. You're sure this isn't some big mistake?"

"We're certain."

"I know it's a lot to take in." Carrick stands up and Theodore follows suit. "We're going to spend the next few days speaking with the other packs to see if anyone has been through something like this. They might be able to provide some guidance or suggestions to us-well to you. In the meantime, Christian will be here with you every step of the way. He can answer any questions you might have, but of course you're also welcome to ask any one of us."

I look at Christian, but he doesn't look up to meet me. He's been quiet for most of the conversation; I have no idea what he's thinking. Silently, he let's go of my hand and walks Carrick and Theodore out. When he returns he takes the seat that they previously occupied, rather than sitting next to me. Somehow the distance feels so much farther between us than it actually is.

"This is really screwed up," I shake my head still in disbelief.

"You have no idea."


End file.
